


Hearts Awakened, Live Alive

by AAvery



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Chaptered, Cyberpunk-ish, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Established Relationship, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Futuristic Alternative Universe, Futuristic fake technology, M/M, Minor Violence, Multiple Pairings, Organized Crime, POV Multiple, POV Third Person, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2020-05-13 23:48:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 114,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19261645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AAvery/pseuds/AAvery
Summary: “You look nervous."“Let’s tie you up in an unfamiliar place and see how you feel."“Funny. I would be nervous if I were you.”“Lucky I’m not you. If you’re going to kill me, why don’t we just get it over with?”“Oh no, I’m not going to kill you. I don’t kill.”“But you’re not above capturing helpless strangers."“You’re a funny man when you’re scared. You’re nowhere near helpless or a stranger to most. I know exactly who you are. The renowned professional criminal known only as Pirate King, a man who made a name for himself as a soloist but is now the leader and founder of the ATEEZ organization, the next up and coming crime ring in the city. You’ve taken down hundreds of corrupt officials and even worse criminals; even if you didn’t kill them, you may as well have with what you’ve reduced them to.”“If you’re not going to kill me, what do you want? Maybe we could come to an agreement.""My contract for you and your little organization is the Agony organization. I want you to help me finally put an end to their tyranny.”Well.Now that was something he could get behind.





	1. Chapter 1

Hongjoong’s head was pounding. A low groan escaped his mouth as he ever so slowly came into consciousness. His eyes were heavy as if something were holding them closed against his will no matter how hard he tried to open them. He clenched them shut in the pain of the effort instead, mentally willing the aching to go away to the best of his ability. He felt so dizzy like he was spinning faster than his body could realistically keep up with. He was vaguely aware of the fact that he was sitting but he could feel nothing else, see nothing else, and hear nothing else just yet over the pain and pounding in his head.

The sound of a distant door slamming from somewhere above him shocked him into alertness, his eyes flying open finally at the sudden, alarming noise. He couldn’t see anything clearly still, his vision swimming so that he could only make out the blurry outlines of the area around him as his brain scrambled to fix whatever had happened.

Nothing made sense to his jumbled brain. What was happening? Where was he? He couldn’t even think of anything around the pounding in his head and the blurry mess that his eyes saw. What could he possibly have done to mess himself up this bad? Was he bleeding? Was there something wrong? He moved to run a hand through his hair, to hold his head to help alleviate the pain and see if there was anything noticeably wrong… but he couldn’t. Harsh, sharp plastic rubbed against his wrist as he tried to move.

Instantly, his mind went into overdrive as panic coursed through his entire body. Pain could wait. He pushed all thoughts of how bad his head hurt out as he started desperately trying to make out what was going on. Zip-ties bound his hands behind the chair he sat in and more secured his legs to the legs of the chair. He felt his face mask still covering his face; he could see the black fabric coming into clarity in the corners of his vision. His hat was missing, he deduced, since he couldn’t see it when he looked up, but he supposed whatever had hit his head had probably knocked it off. At least his anonymity was protected a little bit; it was basically his only real protection as a professional criminal.

So besides an aching head and probable concussion, as far as he could tell anyway with his limited brain power, he was unharmed. None of this made any sense. How did he get here? Forcing himself to dig through his memories, he recalled the last things he could remember and the subsequent events to try and piece together what possibly could’ve gone so wrong.

They had been given an anonymous tip that a major weapons supply for their rival organization, Agony, was being stored in a secluded warehouse while it waited to be picked up. Hongjoong’s organization, better known to outsiders as ATEEZ and the biggest rival to Agony in the city—which really wasn’t saying much at all—had decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Hongjoong had been skeptical and for good reason too as his situation now was starting to prove. It was just way too good to be true, a clear trap. They didn’t even know who it was that had told them about the weapons supply. For all they knew, Agony was setting them up for an ambush. But if it wasn’t a trap, they’d be letting millions of credits of weapons get into their enemy’s hands.

Hongjoong had decided to go check it out himself after the team had decided that they couldn’t pass it up. They should at least check it out to make sure it was a real tip before moving forward. His friends and teammates had obviously objected to such a plan. As their organization’s leader, Hongjoong was a major asset; not to even mention the most experienced of them all, without him their team would surely fall apart in less than a few hours. If he got caught by Agony or some other headhunter and was killed, that’d be the end of it all. All their hard work just gone along with Hongjoong. But he wasn’t going to let any of them go if it could be a trap either. He’d never forgive himself if one of them died on his orders when he knew the dangers involved. So he had gone despite their wishes and that had been the end of the discussion; though, no one was very happy about it.

He had found nothing in any of the main rooms of the supposed building nor any sign that anyone had even been in the abandoned warehouse at all in a very long time, but he kept at it. It was a professional’s job to make everything look inconspicuous after all; he really didn’t expect finding such a major weapons supply to be easy anyway. However, poking around the many side rooms and hallways had yielded nothing as well and as far as he could tell there were no hidden rooms or underground tunnels, either.

He remembered he was just about to radio back to his team to call it a false tip and get the hell out of there before he fell into whatever trap had most likely been set up when everything got fuzzy within his memory. He must’ve been attacked from behind and knocked out; he only was able to recall flashes of memory: a tall figure, a streak of white before he fell victim to the black. There must’ve been someone waiting for him. He knew it would be a trap and he had fallen right into it despite his heightened alertness. His attacker had to have been fast and was most definitely highly skilled in order to get the jump on him. Did they know who he was? Had they targeted him on purpose? Were they hoping the leader of ATEEZ would show up himself? Or were they just hoping to catch anyone from the group?

He didn’t know the answer to any of these questions. What he did know, however, was that he was being held captive, he was unharmed for the most part, and most of his disguise was still on. If his attacker was an assassin or a headhunter, he should already be dead and probably missing a head. If he was a thief, he wouldn’t be held captive. If this was some sort of extortion, his disguise wouldn’t still be on. The only other possible option that would want him as a captive would be an interrogator. Which meant that the person who had him knew exactly who he was and just how valuable a source of information he could be.

Damn it… this wasn’t good. He began struggling against his bindings but there was nothing he could do against zip-ties without a knife or dislocating a bone or two which really didn’t sound too appealing at the moment. He wasn’t that desperate yet, but all the hidden knives he kept around his body had been confiscated so there was no hope of escape that way either. Whoever had him was good and clearly knew the ins and outs of the criminal world very well. Hongjoong pushed away the feelings of fear and panic that were slowly starting to creep up on him and tried to keep a level head. His eyes had finally adjusted to the harsh, bright lighting of the room and his vision no longer swam with the dizziness of his head. He found he was in what looked to be a basement of some sort if he had to guess, but there were no other identifying marks. The walls and floor were all concrete and the lights hung from the ceiling high above him.

“You look nervous,” a heavily modulated voice announced, interrupting his quickly panicking thoughts. He couldn’t find the source of the voice as he looked around the room. There was nowhere to hide except above him so Hongjoong deduced that the owner of the voice if they were even in the room at all, was up in the rafters.

“Let’s tie you up in an unfamiliar place and see how you feel,” he replied, faking as much confidence as he could. He found that, as he spoke, his own voice modulator that worked through his face mask hadn’t been turned off. Interesting. Was his captor completely uninterested in his true identity?

“Funny,” the voice said, not a hint of emotion in his voice despite his words. “I would be nervous if I were you.”

“Lucky I’m not you,” Hongjoong retorted. “If you’re going to kill me, why don’t we just get it over with?”

“Oh no, I’m not going to kill you. I don’t kill.”

“But you’re not above capturing helpless strangers,” Hongjoong mumbled sarcastically.

“You’re a funny man when you’re scared,” the man laughed, there was more emotion behind his words now. As if he actually found Hongjoong’s diversion tactics funny; as if he was enjoying the torment he was putting his captive through. “You’re nowhere near helpless or a stranger to most. I know exactly who you are. The renowned professional criminal known only as Pirate King, a man who made a name for himself as a soloist but is now the leader and founder of the ATEEZ organization, the next up and coming crime ring in the city. You’ve taken down hundreds of corrupt officials and even worse criminals; even if you didn’t kill them, you may as well have with what you’ve reduced them to.”

“I’m flattered, you speak as if you’re a fan.”

“You could say that, but then again, there’s hardly a criminal out there who hasn’t heard your name and doesn’t idolize you,” the voice admitted. “I don’t want to hurt you if the thought ever crossed your mind.”

“How gallant,” Hongjoong mumbled. That’s what they all said. Until they realized Hongjoong was never going to give up any information or trade secrets, they always played the good guy. Even when Hongjoong had just been starting out as a soloist, whenever he got caught by other organizations, he never had given up a useful word even though he didn’t have anything useful to share at the time. But now that he actually had people behind his name, friends depending on him, family practically at this point, there was no way in hell he was ever going to give this interrogator anything. “If you’re not going to kill me, what do you want? Maybe we could come to an agreement if we talked face to face?”

“Perhaps,” the voice said. “Would that make you more willing to talk?”

“If I knew who my captor was, we’d certainly be on better terms.”

Hongjoong heard one of the lights above him groan as his captor jumped down from where he had been hiding above him. He landed gracefully, with hardly a sound, almost unnaturally light on his feet. That’s probably how he had taken Hongjoong by surprise as well, hiding high in the rafters and silently raining down from above. Now, standing in front of Hongjoong was a man. He wore a mask, a white one that reminded him of a fox. He suddenly knew exactly who he was dealing with. It made Hongjoong uneasy, not even being able to see the man’s eyes behind the plastic material but that mask… that mask was this professional’s trademark.

This was Ghost, a trained professional criminal like himself, who used to work for Agony, or at least that’s what everyone on the street said about him. According to their intel, however, he had been a high-ranking official within that organization and killed hundreds, innocents and the guilty alike, but then had defected two years ago for unknown reasons. He isn’t under the same alias then as he is now so no one, not even Agony itself, knows who he is. If they had, he certainly wouldn’t be standing in front of Hongjoong alive and well now. He worked alone and hardly anyone knew much more about his origins. But whenever they did hear news about him, it was always about his work. Everyone was always in awe of how effective he was as a soloist. What in the world could a guy like that want with Hongjoong that he couldn’t do himself?

“So you know who I am then?” The man asked even though Hongjoong hadn’t said anything to indicate so, crossing his arms over his chest. He was tall, probably a good bit taller than Hongjoong himself, and dressed in all black save for the white mask. There was a small, silver handgun attached to his hip but Hongjoong saw no other weapons out in the open. Before Hongjoong could even ask how Ghost knew what he was going to ask, he said: “Your face is very expressive, even when most of it is covered up. Your eyes are enough.”

Hongjoong leaned back as much as he could in his chair being tied up as he was, giving a short laugh: “Of course, I know who you are. Your name is just as well known, if not more so than mine is. What I don’t understand, however, is what you want from me.”

“I have a contract for your organization that I think would be mutually beneficial with our current shared goals.”

“And if I refuse?”

He moved quickly at his words, rushing up to Hongjoong, pulling out his handgun, loading it and holding it directly to his forehead before Hongjoong even had the chance to process what was happening. Damn, he was fast.

“Then I have some bad news for you.”

Hongjoong tried his best not to flinch, not to show any sort of emotion, glaring defiantly up into the black, expressionless eyes of his captor’s mask.

“There are probably countless contractors out there who would pay me millions for your head.”

“I thought you didn’t kill.”

“I’m willing to make an exception.” His distorted voice sounded harsh up close. “Though, I’d prefer not to take out such a wonderfully talented professional. It really would be a shame, letting all that potential die with you. Just hear me out, is all I’m asking, and no one has to die. I’m sure we’ll be able to come to an understanding of sorts.”

“Fine…” Hongjoong conceded; he didn’t have much of choice if he didn’t want a bullet in his head. Plus, he had people back at their headquarters depending on him. He had to keep living for at least a little longer. “Why couldn’t you have just contacted one of our informants like a normal person?”

He didn’t retract the gun after hearing Hongjoong’s agreement. Instead, he pulled the trigger with a resounding click. Hongjoong squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst… but nothing came. Only the sound of an empty barrel firing nothing. Then, Ghost retracted the gun, pulling the clip out in one fluid, practiced motion before throwing it onto Hongjoong’s lap. Hongjoong opened his eyes in stunned disbelief; the clip was empty; relief washed through Hongjoong as he snorted.

“Neat trick.”

“I told you, I didn’t want to kill you. I just need you to listen to me,” Ghost said. “As for why I kidnapped you instead of contacting your informants, I wanted to meet the notorious King in person… like I said there’s hardly a professional out there that doesn’t admire your skill and I myself would be included in that category. You’re different than I imagined… a lot smaller…”

“Watch it,” Hongjoong snapped. “Untie my hands and we’ll see if my size has any bearing on my abilities.

Ghost laughed.

“No no, don’t get offended. I just meant that you’re a lot cuter than someone of your standing has any business being,” Ghost laughed again at the completely incredulous look that now took over Hongjoong’s face at his words. “Such expressive eyes.”

“Are you insane?”

“Not important,” Ghost brushed off. If Hongjoong had to guess, he’d say the man had the widest shit-eating grin hiding behind that stupid fox mask. Hongjoong didn’t know whether to feel flattered, disgusted, angry or all of the above. Reading this guy’s voice through the modulator was next to impossible; he couldn’t tell if he was mocking him or being sincere. “Anyway, my contract for you and your little organization is the Agony organization. I want you to help me finally put an end to their tyranny.”

Well.

Perhaps they could come to some sort of understanding.

He had said the magic words, after all.

“I’m listening.”

~Hongjoong~

An indeterminant amount of time later found Hongjoong back at his team’s hideout. He had no idea how long he had been gone; Ghost hadn’t exactly been forthright with time while he had been held captive; he hadn’t really been forthright with much of anything, to be completely honest. To his surprise, however, Ghost had dropped him off exactly where their hideout was without ever once asking him where to go. He had blindfolded him, of course, so he wouldn’t know where Ghost’s own hideout was, shoved him in a car, and minutes later he found himself being kicked out of the car right in front of their hideout. He discovered that Ghost really liked to talk, non-stop chatter that didn’t allow for Hongjoong to get a word in elsewise. It was completely different than what he had expected from someone of his standing. It threw him off. He knew how to deal with his team because outside of their shady dealings, they were all close friends. He dealt with hyperactive people on the daily, and he knew where the line was drawn and what boundaries he shouldn’t cross. He didn’t know Ghost. He didn’t know if he could reply with sarcasm or be just as forthright and rambunctious as he was; he didn’t know how Ghost would react. He’d have to continue trying to figure out how to deal with him, though, if they wanted his intel on Agony. ATEEZ had been trying to take down Agony for years. They were a nationwide organization so they needed whatever edge they could get and that meant that they absolutely needed Ghost’s expertise.

Ghost wanted to meet with the whole team to finalize the details tomorrow night, so they’d be starting right away. But first, he had to get his team back in order. When he walked through the front doors of the decrepit warehouse where their base of operations was kept, he was fully expecting his team members to be in varying stages of disarray and chaos. The main room had been empty, as was usual to keep up the appearance of an abandoned building, but the second he went into the side room they used for most of their meetings, he found the utter chaos he had been expecting. Looking over the room he stood in, getting things back in order was going to be quite the struggle, not that he didn’t handle these apocalyptic situations on the daily anyway.

Everyone, all six of them, were in some sort of distress. Yunho was pacing up and down the length of the small room, yelling about something or another with his arms flailing every which way in exasperation. Mingi, who laid face down on the floor to the side of Yunho’s pacing, argued back with him except Hongjoong could hardly understand what he was saying, his voice muffled against the floor. Jongho sat in one of their desk chairs, cradling one of San’s plushies that he had probably stolen, his eyes wide as he pushed the chair on wheels around the room, loudly singing incoherently as he went. San sat in the corner of the room, facing the corner, cross-legged and unmoving. Wooyoung sat against San’s back, contributing to Yunho and Mingi’s argument and effectively doubling the noise level in the room all by himself. Yeosang, perhaps the only calm one on the outside at least, sat with his eyes plastered to his computer, typing away as things flashed across all six of his monitors. How he was getting any work done with the disaster around him was lost on Hongjoong, but he supposed the younger man was used to it by now with how things normally went around here.

“Hongjoong!” Wooyoung shouted over all the commotion, the first to notice his arrival into the room. Immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed to him. Hongjoong pulled off his mask, letting it hang from one ear while he met his members. Instantly, San latched onto him, which then caused Jongho and Mingi to join in as well. “We were so worried!”

“What happened?”

“Where were you?”

“Why didn’t you radio in?”

“Or at least call?”

Millions of questions were thrown at him. If only Ghost knew the amount of chaos he had thrown his team into with his stupid little stunt.

“Guys, one at a time, holy shit,” Hongjoong laughed, shouting over them all. They quieted down instantly.

“You had us scrambling,” Yeosang said, looking absolutely defeated as he continued: “I tried to locate you, but had no luck… your commlink had been turned off.”

“It’s okay, I’m fine,” Hongjoong said, putting a hand comfortingly on Yeosang’s shoulder, trying to get that look off his friend’s face. He was definitely going to give Ghost an earful next time he saw him.

“What about the weapons supply?” Yunho asked.

“Dead end… a setup. I would’ve told you all earlier, but I must’ve lost my earpiece when I was attacked.”

He immediately regretted the words that came out of his mouth when he saw the worry that flashed through all their faces.

“Attacked?!”

“By who?”

“By what?”

“Guys again, calm down, stop shouting!” Hongjoong yelled over them again.

“What happened, then? You’ve been gone for five hours, hyung,” Mingi asked.

That would make it three in the morning then, having left to check for the supplies at ten. No wonder they all had devolved so horribly.

“I went to the warehouse like we discussed but there was nothing there,” Hongjoong started, choosing his words very carefully so he didn’t send them all into chaos once more. “It was a setup obviously, and I ended up meeting with Ghost—”

“Wait, wait… Ghost? As in _the_ Ghost?” Jongho asked.

“Yeah, he wanted to place a contract with our organization.”

“Why would he take out a contract? Isn’t he capable of doing everything we can do?” Wooyoung asked.

“And probably more,” San agreed.

“He wants us to help him take down the Agony organization,” Hongjoong said. He was met with a mixed response, but a general feeling of uneasiness settled throughout the group of seven.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope.”

“Why couldn’t he just get in contact with one of our informants?” Yunho asked. “Why did he have to kidnap you with a false lead? We’re not exactly hard to find. Everyone who knows the street knows who San and Wooyoung are and how to contact them.”

“I have no idea, he wouldn’t say,” Hongjoong said, deciding to keep that part of their conversation to himself. It confused him too much to even attempt to explain it to his team members too. “He wants to talk over the details tomorrow night with the entire team. He knows a lot about us already, it seems.”

“That’s not surprising,” Yeosang spoke up. “While I was searching for you, I noticed a lot of spyware that had been trying to decrypt information on our servers. I don’t know how it all got there or who it was planted by, but it’s gone now. Though, I don’t know yet what information it was looking for or if it managed to get anything at all.”

“Well, we’ll leave that aspect of this to you, Yeosang,” Hongjoong said. The man was a genius when it came to technology, no amount of downplaying the information would ever make Hongjoong understand it all; he had complete and utter faith in Yeosang. “Could you figure out if that was actually Ghost’s work or someone else’s?”

“Can I figure out whose it is, don’t make me laugh,” Yeosang scoffed.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Yeosang nodded before immediately heading back to his computers to do what he did best, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

“As for the rest of you… your thoughts?”

“I don’t think passing this up would be a good idea. We won’t have another chance like this to get insider information,” Yunho spoke his thoughts first.

“He’s right, we’ve been wanting to take down Agony ever since we started,” Jongho added in.

“It’s why we formed in the first place,” Yeosang corrected him without looking away from his computers.

“Right,” Jongho agreed. “But we haven’t really gotten anywhere. Agony is still as big as ever and we’re really short on money. We don’t have much to lose, even if Ghost falls through, it’ll be a good chance to make an actual name for ourselves and bring in more business that’s not just poking at a sleeping bear.”

“Only one problem,” Mingi said, always playing the devil’s advocate when it came to these kinds of conversations. He had been the only one to agree with Hongjoong about the weapons supply too. “Agony is on a nationwide scale and we’re just us. A couple of teenagers where half of the team’s total expertise comes from Hongjoong alone… How are we supposed to take down such a huge organization?”

“Yeah…” Wooyoung started slowly, taking in everything Mingi said. “We don’t even know where their official base of operations is.”

“Other organizations have tried in the past to take down Agony, remember?” San said, always the first to agree with Wooyoung. “And they were all ruthlessly destroyed. Agony doesn’t play by the rules, murder isn’t something they’re afraid of doing… is that something we’re really willing to risk?”

“I’ve got my brother to take care of, I can’t die…” Yunho agreed, quietly. Mingi immediately went to his side, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders.

The room went quiet as the gravity of the situation began to sink in. All of them had homes, families to go back to. Hongjoong couldn’t blame any of them for being doubtful of not only their own safety but also the safety of everyone they loved. It was one thing to fuck with Agony’s supplies, or interrupt their events, but to shut the entire organization down? That was on a whole other scale.

“We’re not going to die,” Jongho said, though even he didn’t sound too sure of his words.

“How can we be sure, though? I mean, even with Ghost helping us, a supposed “Agony insider”, how do we even know this isn’t another trap? How do we know that he’s even Ghost, to begin with and not someone from Agony pretending to be him? Or that Ghost isn’t still working for Agony despite all the rumors?” Yunho continued, bringing a few very good questions to the table.

“It just doesn’t make much sense,” Mingi agreed. “Why would he go through all the trouble of kidnapping Hongjoong, give us an “anonymous tip” just to get someone to go to that warehouse when all he could’ve done, if he knew the streets as well as we think he does, was talk to San or Wooyoung?”

“I have no idea,” Hongjoong agreed. “But Maybe we could at least meet with him tomorrow, question his intentions, see if he slips up or if anything seems off. We can’t pass up an opportunity like this. Like with the weapons supply earlier today, it’s too good to be true, yes, but if we don’t at least try, we’d be letting down millions.”

“Why did we start this organization in the first place?” Hongjoong continued. Everyone turned to look at him in confusion. “To turn and run when things got hard?”

No one said anything, waiting for their leader to continue.

“Yunho, why is it exactly that you need to take care of your brother?” He asked, pointing the question at Yunho, specifically. Yunho looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with everyone at the painful memories. “Why is it, Mingi, that you’re stuck giving every last cent you make to pay off debts that aren’t even your own?”

Again, Mingi didn’t say anything, grabbing onto Yunho a little tighter at Hongjoong’s words.

“Agony has fucked each and every one of us over in so many different ways. It’s why we’ve been risking our lives all this time, so it doesn’t happen to anyone else. So that Yunho, your brother isn’t also hauled away to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, or Mingi, you don’t have to dig your family out of endless debt. It’s not going to be easy, we knew that going into it, though. We should, as I said, at least hear the man out. If our intel is correct, and I’m sure it is, he could get us information that literally no one else could except someone from Agony. And if it’s a trap again… Well, there’s seven of us and one of him…”

“Where do we even begin then? I mean, the fucking governor of the province is the head of the organization,” Wooyoung said.

“Well to start, we need to find a way to infiltrate their leader’s ranks and find their main headquarters. Besides whatever information Ghost has, we can also potentially find a way in with the head’s son,” Yeosang said, walking back over with a few papers in hand and joining their conversation.

“You found all that out in like five minutes?” Jongho asked, a tinge of awe to his voice.

“No, of course not.” Yeosang rolled his eyes, never having been very tolerant of Jongho’s sometimes stupid questions. “I’ve actually been planning how we would start an infiltration, if we ever decided to do so, for quite a while. But, regardless, it’s common knowledge that our governor has kids, anyway.”

“So his son?” Hongjoong asked, bringing them back on topic.

“Right, he has two actually. The eldest…” Yeosang walked through the group towards one of the corkboards lining the back wall of their small room. Using a tack, he pinned one of the pieces of paper he carried with him to the board. It was a picture, supposedly of the eldest son of the leader of Agony taken when he hadn’t noticed. The rest of the group fell into a semicircle near the board, watching Yeosang speak with rapt attention. “…Is very active within the organization and outwardly in full support of his father so you’d probably have a hard time getting anything from him. But I wasn’t talking about him.”

Yeosang pinned another picture to the corkboard. Hongjoong recognized this one.

“I’m talking about the youngest son, Park Seonghwa. He was adopted by the family to make them look more relatable to the public to up his ratings in the polls about twelve years ago, so he’s not blood-related to any of them. He is, however, still a high ranking official within the organization. From what I can tell though, he’s not very active and hasn’t a single kill to his name. He actually attends your university, Hongjoong.”

“I’ve never seen him before,” San said. Wooyoung nodded. The three of them all attended the same college but Wooyoung and San were a year below Hongjoong, which explained why they had never seen Park Seonghwa before. But Hongjoong would recognize that man a mile away with his bleached, platinum blonde hair and tall figure always dressed in expensive clothing.

“I have a few classes with him, he’s in my year,” Hongjoong spoke up. “Really quiet, doesn’t talk to anyone that I’ve seen.”

“Which would make it really easy for you to get close to him if he’s lonely,” Yunho said, piecing together where Yeosang was going with this debriefing before Hongjoong.

“You’re not wrong…” Hongjoong agreed reluctantly. He really didn’t like the idea of playing someone for information, especially someone who always looked so outcasted and starved of attention. San and Wooyoung did it all the time for them however, always working face to face with people to get information. If it came down to it though, it would make much more sense for Hongjoong to approach the man versus San or Wooyoung. If they wanted to do this without raising suspicion, it would have to be Hongjoong.

“So… are we doing this then?” San asked.

“We’ll have to be careful,” Yunho said slowly. “But… if Hongjoong thinks we can do it, then I’ll follow our leader.”

Next to him, Mingi nodded as well.

“I’ve got nothing more to lose,” Yeosang said quietly before his voice gained more confidence. “And everything to gain, I have no issue giving this a shot.”

Jongho gave a nod as well after hearing what Yeosang had said.

“We’d follow our fearless leader anywhere, after all,” Wooyoung agreed with finality to his words. Hongjoong’s team, his _family,_ looked at him with such sincere certainty, it filled him with pride. It made him feel like they could accomplish anything together. He nodded at them.

“All right, then let’s get started,” he said. “Wooyoung, San, I want you to gather literally anything you can on Park Seonghwa tomorrow from people around campus. But make sure that the fact that you’re both asking about him doesn’t get back to him. Think you can handle that?”

“Yes sir,” they both saluted enthusiastically.

“Mingi, Yunho, I want you to start monitoring Agony’s leader’s house to see if you can’t find any insights into their leaders’ day to day. Don’t engage or enter the house, but it’s very possible that his manor is actually where their base of operations is.”

“You got it.”

“No problem.”

“Jongho, I want you keeping an eye on this place. If Ghost knew where our base was, or at least the person calling himself Ghost does, it’s possible others do too. Specifically, keep an eye out for anyone who walks or drives by the warehouse and document it. If Ghost is lying to us, it’s possible we’ll find other agents of Agony also staking this place out.”

“Easy peasy.”

“Yeosang, do what you do best.”

The man nodded.

“And I guess I’m on Park Seonghwa.”

Both San and Wooyoung snorted.

“What? Something funny?”

“You might want to rephrase that… unless you actually plan on seducing him,” San said through laughter.

“I guess it’s time for our dear leader to do the dirty work this time around.”

~Wooyoung~

Wooyoung sat next to San the following afternoon in their school’s outdoor cafeteria, waiting for Hongjoong to get out of his last class to meet with them before they all left campus for the day. It was a rare beautiful afternoon; warm with a slight breeze and the sun shining brightly. He debated closing his eyes while they waited, having stayed up entirely too late the night before due to Hongjoong’s kidnapping and getting up rather early in order to make it to his own classes. It was so pleasantly warm and the steady stream of conversation around him lulled him into comfort; he could just close his eyes for a bit, couldn’t he? They’d already gotten on the same page with all the information they’d gathered; all they were waiting for was Hongjoong to come around. San would wake him up when he got here, wouldn’t he? What was the harm in just resting his eyes for a bit?

“Hey, hey, look alive,” San teased, snapping his fingers in front of Wooyoung’s face. He hadn’t even realized his eyes had slipped shut while he thought about whether he could get away with doing so or not. Guess he really was tired.

“Sorry,” Wooyoung yawned, leaning his head on San’s shoulder instead. It probably wasn’t a good idea, just inviting him to fall asleep in an even more comfortable position than before, but he got clingier the sleepier he felt. A quirk that he simply couldn’t help; he was too tired.

“I get it,” San agreed, snaking an arm around his waist in comfort. “We just have to wait for Hongjoong to get here and then _we_ can go take a nap.”

Wooyoung hummed.

“That sounds nice,” he agreed, fighting the urge to close his eyes again. “I am hungry, though.”

“Why don’t you go buy some food, then?” San laughed. “I’m sure you have time before we have to brief Hongjoong. Who knows what’s gotten him so distracted this time.”

Hongjoong was running late by about ten minutes. They probably had at least another five before he showed up too.

“I would but I legit don’t have any money,” Wooyoung said with a sigh and a small, bitter laugh.

“I’d offer to buy you something, but I’m broke too,” San admitted. “Unless you can find something for like two credits.”

“It’s fine,” Wooyoung waved off. “I was really hoping that the weapons supply was a real thing, though.”

He went on, practically just rambling all his thoughts out loud in an attempt to keep himself awake. “Then, at least, we could sell some of it for actual money and have a decent meal for once, you know?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Maybe we can pick up a bit of work in between running this job. Just something to make a little extra money.”

“No one’s contacted us for a job in forever, though. We have to get our name out there better.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Wooyoung yawned again as he nodded, rubbing at his eyes in another fruitless attempt to stay awake. When his eyes came back into focus, he caught sight of the man they’d been waiting for finally approaching their table. His usually messy, dyed blonde hair hidden under a hat, glasses that he didn’t actually need, placed low on his nose, ragged and inexpensive clothes, his shirt a bit too big, his pants a bit to small, yet he managed to always pull off whatever he wore, Hongjoong certainly had his own, unmistakable, and sometimes questionable, style.

“Look, Hongjoong’s coming,” Wooyoung announced. “Late as usual.”

San snorted, rolling his shoulders out to get Wooyoung off and sitting up straight. Wooyoung wrinkled his nose at the movement, reluctantly moving off of San. He could’ve just asked.

“It wouldn’t be Hongjoong if he didn’t lose track of time or get distracted by something on the way here.”

Their leader and closest friend approached their table, plopping himself down across from them, looking just as exhausted as Wooyoung felt. Though, he had a sneaking suspicion that Hongjoong had been awake much longer than the two of them and would continue to go without sleep until he literally passed out from the overexertion. He really did have some awful habits.

“You both look tired,” Hongjoong said, a tinge of worry to his voice as his eyebrows knotted together. Wooyoung hoped he wouldn’t start lecturing them on the importance of sleep; it almost never meant much to any of them considering Hongjoong didn’t even follow his own words.

“You’re one to talk,” Wooyoung teased. Hongjoong rolled his eyes, waving it all off as he pulled his backpack into his lap and began digging through it.

“You’re late, you know,” San added.

“Yeah I know, I know,” Hongjoong said distractedly, practically shoving his entire head into his backpack while he searched through it. “But it’s because…”

He brandished two plastic-wrapped sandwiches from his bag, throwing them across the table to the two of them.

“I was buying these for you.”

“What about you?” Wooyoung asked, fully ready to rip the sandwich in half if need be.

Hongjoong waved him off again, though.

“I’m not hungry,” he clearly lied. But Wooyoung and San both knew better than to argue against him. He wasn’t going to give in no matter how hard they might try to share the food. The man was too compassionate for his own good; he’d probably just spent the rest of his own money on the two of them if Wooyoung had to guess. His kindness was probably going to get him killed one of these days, working the dangerous, cutthroat work they did.

Instead of arguing, though, San and Wooyoung shared a look before digging into their graciously given food.

“All right then, let’s get to it,” Hongjoong said. “Did you manage to find anything?”

Wooyoung swallowed his bite of sandwich before saying:

“You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

San nodded in agreement before adding:

“He’s kind of a mystery to everyone. Both of us only really found rumors and nothing really solid so we’re not sure what’s true and what’s just baseless rumor. One thing is for certain, though, and that’s that everyone at least knows who he is and is absolutely terrified of him.”

“Why?” Hongjoong asked.

“His older brother is well known on this campus for having blackmailed anyone who so much as caused him a minor inconvenience while he went to school here. So now, everyone walks on eggshells around Seonghwa in case he’s going to act the same way or maybe even worse,” Wooyoung explained.

“So does he have any friends on campus?”

“Not that we could find or that anyone else knew of,” San said.

“I mean, he’s sitting right over there,” Wooyoung started, nodding discreetly in the direction of the man in question. His attention was fully on the multitude of textbooks and papers surrounding him, but as he had said, there was no one within a ten-foot radius. Hongjoong pretended to stretch out his back, twisting left and right to get a view of the man sitting only a few tables away from them. “And you can see, there’s no one in that entire area.”

“I knew he was a bit of an outcast around here, but I never thought it was that bad,” Hongjoong said.

“There’s a reason Wooyoung and I didn’t even know he went to school here until yesterday,” San agreed. “No one talks about him around here and if they do, they always make sure no one’s listening in pretty thoroughly before going ahead. He also doesn’t stay on campus longer than he has too. Rather an elusive guy, showing up to his lectures and labs and then leaving immediately afterward. He’s not involved in any activities, clubs, or sports that anyone knew of.”

“I heard one person say he hangs around a corner table in the campus library on the third floor every afternoon to study in quiet, but no one else that I talked to knew anything about that,” Wooyoung added.

“I’m assuming he’s not in any sort of romantic relationship either, then?” Hongjoong asked. San shook his head.

“Nope, but despite who he is, he’s actually rather sought after. You know, because he is kind of handsome and all; it’s no small wonder that women would be throwing themselves at him, and it helps that he’s rich, too.”

“Some brave souls have actually tried coming on to him,” Wooyoung continued. “I talked to a supposed friend of a girl who had tried. She said her friend had asked him out, but he had politely declined. When asked why he, again supposedly, said that he was gay. Now, this could be the truth, but it could also be what a girl made up to tell her friends and make herself feel better about being rejected, you know? So take that with a grain of salt.”

“If it’s true, do you think I should actually try flirting with him?” Hongjoong asked. Clearly, the idea made him uncomfortable. It was all over his face. Wooyoung really hoped this Seonghwa wasn’t good at reading people; otherwise, their operation might be shut down sooner than they all hoped.

“It’s up to you, hyung,” San said. “And how far you’re willing to go. The more you can get him to trust you, the easier it will be to get the information you want. If that means going as far as to date him, maybe even sleeping with him, then you’d probably be able to get inside his house without bringing any sort of suspicion your way.”

Hongjoong thought about San’s words for a moment, seemingly considering his options. Wooyoung, on the other hand, really didn’t like the way San had phrased any of that. It sounded like he was speaking from experience and if that were the case, he wondered how many people San had done exactly what he had just described to. It left a bad taste in his mouth and a sinking feeling of jealousy in the pit of his stomach. San and he had a rather complicated relationship—if he had to call it anything, he’d call it a friends-with-benefits sort of deal—but they definitely weren’t dating and had never discussed exclusivity. Sure, Wooyoung occasionally flirted with some of their targets to get better info when the situation called for it, but he had never gone any further than that. It had just never felt right to do that to somebody or to do it without telling his partner… But had San? He hated the thought.

“Have you actually slept with a contract?” Wooyoung asked before he could stop himself; he just hoped he wasn’t being too obvious in his line of thought.

“Why?” San asked, looking at him confused instead of answering.

“No reason,” Wooyoung said, looking away. He suddenly really didn’t want to know the answer even though he could probably guess what it would be at this point.

“What do you think I should do?” Hongjoong asked, bringing Wooyoung back to the actual task at hand. He filed his jealousy away for another time.

“Well, you could try a bit of flirting, test the waters and see what happens,” Wooyoung suggested, jumping right back into his work mentality.

“Just don’t try anything too fast, you’ll make him suspicious. Maybe mention that you’ve been wanting to get to know him for quite a while or something. Make it sound like you’ve been pining from afar for a long time before finally working up the courage to talk to him,” San offered his advice. Hongjoong nodded, taking everything in.

“I have a lab with him on Friday. I might be able to weasel my way into being his partner for the procedure, would that work?”

Wooyoung and San both nodded.

“Yeah, that way it gives him no choice but to meet with you again sometime later to finish the lab write up or whatever,” Wooyoung said.

“All right, fantastic,” Hongjoong said, drumming on the table in his affirmation. “Stellar work as always you two.”

“Our pleasure, boss,” San joked. Hongjoong smiled.

“I’m going to head home then. You two should get some sleep too, but don’t forget about the meeting tonight.”

“Yes sir,” the two of them saluted. Hongjoong got up then, saluting them back with a playful smile and shouldering his backpack before heading in the direction of Seonghwa’s table.

“What’s he doing?” San asked, watching their leader leave the area in a rather roundabout way.

“I don’t know…”

San and Wooyoung watched whatever stunt their leader was about to pull with captivated attention. What in the world was he doing?

As Hongjoong walked towards the blonde’s table, Seonghwa looked up at him. Wooyoung noted a bit of confusion play across his features when he noticed Hongjoong walking in his direction. That wasn’t surprising given all that Wooyoung had learned about people avoiding him at all costs. People probably didn’t approach him, or even walk in his general direction, very often. Hongjoong must’ve made eye contact and smiled at Seonghwa or something, though, because a look of immense embarrassment took over the man’s face in an instant before he quickly ducked his head down to hide his rather obvious blush. Wooyoung also took notice of how the action, itself, was also a front for being able to discreetly watch Hongjoong walk away from him. The man’s eyes trailed after Hongjoong as he passed; more specifically, trailed after his ass, which had a bit more swivel to it than normal if Wooyoung had a say in it.

Wooyoung held himself back from bursting out into loud laughter that would certainly draw unwanted attention to them as San whistled appreciatively.

“Guess those rumors do hold a little weight,” Wooyoung giggled, barely containing full on laughter. He knew his laugh was rather obnoxious, but he couldn’t help it. He never would’ve guessed in a million years that Hongjoong would have moves like that hiding up his oversized sleeves.

“Who knew Hongjoong had it in him,” San agreed. “At this rate, he’ll be in that house in no time at all.”

San stood up from the table then. With a big yawn, he stretched out his back, holding his arms high above his head, causing his shirt to ride up ever so slightly. A movement that was not missed by Wooyoung’s well-trained eye. He appreciated the site, but with San’s comment, Wooyoung was suddenly reminded of his admissions earlier in the conversation with a very unwelcome pang of jealousy echoing through his stomach. San hadn’t answered his question earlier… maybe now that Hongjoong was gone they could actually discuss it.

“You know…” Wooyoung started, watching San stretch out, trying not to feel so bitter about something so silly. “You never answered my question…”

“What question?” San asked. If he was feigning ignorance, he was doing a very good job of it. Did he not understand why Wooyoung would find the news that he possibly sleeps around to get information upsetting while he was also sleeping with him? Like he said, sure they had a no strings attached relationship, but he thought there would be at least a little notification that he was sleeping with other people. They were friends and partners, after all, weren’t they?”

“Do you actually sleep around to get better information?” Wooyoung asked, feeling rather emboldened by his feelings of betrayal.

“What would it matter if I did?” San asked instead of answering the question once again. Wooyoung got an answer this time, though. You didn’t avoid the question twice if you weren’t hiding something.

“I guess it wouldn’t…” Wooyoung muttered. San smiled at him then and offered a hand, clearly not understanding Wooyoung’s emotions. For someone supposedly super good at reading and handling people, he could be so obtuse when it came to the moments Wooyoung wished actually mattered.

Wooyoung didn’t take San’s hand, standing up from the table and beginning to walk away towards the exit to the outdoor pavilion without so much as a look in San’s direction.

“Come on, let’s go take a nap,” Wooyoung said. To his credit, San recovered from Wooyoung’s blatant brush off rather well.

“All right lead the way.”

~Mingi~

The extreme focus of Mingi’s binoculars was starting to hurt his eyes. They’d been at this surveillance for hours, it was no small wonder why Mingi’s eyes were killing him. He had to hold himself just right, keep his eyes at just the right level to be able to make anything out through the incredibly high level of magnification the binoculars had. Any slight movements, even blinking his eyes threw off the focus and caused him to have to adjust the things once again. His poor eyes were exhausted.

There was nothing exciting even going on. The governor’s manor was empty as far as they could tell, and probably would be for most of the day. The governor himself was away for work, the eldest son had left earlier in the day to do probably other work-related things for his own job, and according to San and Wooyoung, the youngest—Soonghwa, Seungwhi, Mingi couldn’t remember—was on campus during this time of day every Wednesday.

Sighing deeply and loudly, Mingi tore himself away from the awful binoculars, rubbing at his ailing eyes as he leaned back against the wall. He blinked slowly a few times, trying to get his eyes accustomed to the dim lighting of the building they were holed up in across the street from the manor they were watching. It was such a bright day outside, rare for the city they lived in which usually always rained. Mingi didn’t know which he preferred more: Trying to get his high-powered binoculars to focus during a heavy rainstorm or staring constantly through them in the bright sunlight. It wouldn’t be so bad, he figured, if he at least had something interesting to look at. An empty house just didn’t have any secrets it could tell him as it was.

They’d done the exciting part earlier this morning, much earlier than Mingi had wanted to even get up considering what little sleep they had gotten in the first place. But when Yunho woke him up after what was basically a two-hour nap with a sweet kiss to his forehead and whispered apologies, Mingi found it hard not to immediately forgive him and follow his instructions to a tee.

It had still been dark outside when the two of them had reached where they would be conducting the surveillance of the Park residence. They were on the seventh floor of an office building, a floor that hadn’t been rented out to anyone at the moment so there was no threat of being caught. It had been easy enough to pick the lock too, taking Yunho less than two minutes to break into the supposed to be off-limits floor.

They’d deposited all their stuff near the most optimal window before then departing from the building one at a time. Due to it only having been five o’clock in the morning, no one was really around to see them anyway, but you could never be too careful when dealing with Agony, especially its leader and highest-ranking officials. Mingi left first, getting into a position directly across the street from the house and leaning casually against the building. He had changed into a janitor’s uniform that they kept on-hand specifically for these kinds of situations. He lit up a cigarette, too. He didn’t smoke but it completed the look. Anyone looking at him would see a cleaning man taking a little morning smoke break, nothing out of the ordinary. It also served as a signal to Yunho in the building above that, as far as he could tell, everything was all clear for him to come down too.

Yunho, however, came out a side maintenance door to a back alley where he would then pretend to be a morning jogger, dressed in running shorts and everything. They had discussed this plan briefly the night before after receiving their assignment from Hongjoong. Their leader had only told them to surveil the house, watch the various going on, but they’d get so much more insight if they also bugged the household’s most used cars. Yunho had had the idea, briefly described it to Mingi on the way over here and though Mingi was absolutely exhausted, he took in all the information he could. They did these kinds of maneuvers all the time, though, so Mingi wasn’t too worried about their plan failing. They worked so well off each other—it’s why they were always assigned to work with each other—that if the need be, both of them could easily improvise and the plan would still carry out flawlessly.

Five minutes later, Mingi had seen Yunho come running down the street. He watched him, trying not to be too obvious that he was waiting for a signal as he pretended to smoke and scroll mindlessly through an empty document on his phone. The signal came in the form of Yunho pretending to trip over something on the sidewalk, completely wiping out right next to where one of the governor’s cars had been parked on the curb, his phone and earbuds going flying as he crashed to the ground. Mingi didn’t even have to try hard to fake his concern as he threw his cigarette on the ground, stamping it out before rushing across the street to help the “stranger who had fallen”. It looked convincing; Yunho might have accidentally hurt himself, too, in his attempt to make it look real. It wouldn’t be the first time, either.

“Are you okay?” Mingi asked, offering a hand to Yunho who was pretending to struggle to get up. Yunho took his hand, taking the small nano-tracker Mingi had in his hand also as he went. Yunho shook his head, his voice strained as he responded:

“I think I twisted my ankle.”

“Do you want me to call an ambulance?” Mingi asked, shouldering one of Yunho’s arms and leading him towards the nearest car. Yunho reached out for it, pretending to use if for support. Mingi didn’t look at what Yunho was doing; he’d give away the whole ploy if he paid attention to every little thing Yunho did. He had faith in him, though. Yunho planned to place the tracker somewhere on the car now that he was leaning against it for support and Mingi had no doubt he’d do exactly that with or without Mingi’s supervision.

“Maybe…” Yunho answered Mingi’s question, using the car for support as he continued his ploy of a hurt ankle. “I might just need to walk it off.”

Mingi gave Yunho space, moving away from the “stranger” to pull out his phone and pretend to begin dialing the emergency number. Yunho kept on moving, though, determined to “just walk it off”. Pretending to notice Yunho’s attempts just as he reached the end of one of the cars, Mingi put his phone away and rushed back over to him to catch him from fake falling once again. He put his arm out for Yunho to take, also to take the next tracking device from him, and helped him walk to the next car.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Mingi asked. He wouldn’t be convinced if he had actually run into Yunho as a stranger acting this way after all. Mingi was also asking because he noticed that, in his faked wipe out, Yunho had ended up actually scraping his knees badly.

“I think I’ll be fine,” Yunho said, smiling happily at Mingi.

They placed the other two nano-trackers on the cars the same way as the first before Yunho was able to “walk on his own” again and loop back around the block to the same side exit he had left from. Mingi went back into the building through the front entrance and, still dressed as an actual janitor that would be working in that building, went to wait by the door so he could let Yunho in when he came around.

Mingi loved it when their plans went on without a hitch because Yunho would come back to him with the biggest and most beautiful smile on his face. He absolutely lived for those moments; it’s a good thing they were plentiful. Yunho was a genius when it came to designing these inconspicuous espionage missions and Mingi was a genius at executing them. They worked well together and loved doing it. Yunho was the actual mastermind behind it all, though. Without him, Mingi wouldn’t be able to pull off any of the stunts they did together. It was lucky he had Yunho, then.

But now, with the cars safely bugged with nearly invisible tracking devices designed by their one and only genius technician, Yeosang, there was nothing to do but sit and watch the house. By pure luck, the three cars that the two of them actually ended up placing the bugs on were the three cars each member of the household ended up taking to their respective obligations, so they knew exactly where everyone was when they weren’t at the house. Unfortunately, however, it was nothing out of the ordinary. The governor’s expensive, black Rolls-Royce was parked in a parking garage right next to the capitol building; not surprising considering he worked there. The eldest son’s silver Mustang was parked in the company parking lot of their family business’ office skyscraper; again, not surprising considering he was the acting CEO of the company. And the youngest’s black and red gaudy Bugatti was parked right inside campus boundary lines; how utterly predictable. To anyone who didn’t know any better, these three behaved as anyone would expect from a rich governor and his family. Too bad Yunho and Mingi knew better.

What they were doing now, though, was utterly pointless. There was no reason for both of them to be constantly straining their already exhausted eyes staring at an empty house.

Mingi looked over to Yunho, watching the man work in silence. It was so much more interesting than the house, at least. He had long ago changed out of his jogger disguise in favor of their ATEEZ organization’s uniform. Everyone’s was different but had relatively the same theme of all black, silver highlights, and an accent of red. Yunho’s uniform was a long black jacket that wasn’t quite the length of a trench coat like Mingi’s own but reached past his knees by a couple of inches. His accent of red came in the form of long, fingerless gloves that disappeared up into the sleeves of his coat and had thumbholes cut out the sides. He wasn’t wearing his hat or face mask since there wasn’t a reason to right now so Mingi could see his entire, handsome face. He was so focused. His eyes trained solely on the house in front of him, looking through his own pair of binoculars with practiced ease. He made it look so easy like it didn’t kill his eyes staring through such a high magnification device. Mingi envied him. He wished he could have such laser focus. Instead, here he was staring at his boyfriend staring out the window, doing what he should also be doing.

“You’re staring at me,” Yunho pointed out, not even looking away from his binoculars. His fingers deftly adjusted the scopes, fine-tuning the focus as if he’d been trained from birth on how to expertly handle looking devices.

“You’re pretty,” Mingi blurted out, hardly feeling any shame despite what he had said in lieu of something more intelligent. It was the truth anyway and why he had been staring in the first place. Yunho didn’t look away from his binoculars, focusing on his work. The only indication that Yunho had heard Mingi at all was the flush of red that overtook the back of his neck and the tips of his ears. Cute.

“You’re bored,” Yunho responded with a laugh. Although he had to be used to Mingi’s sometimes abrasive comments, it was nice to know that his compliments still had an effect on his long-term boyfriend. They’d been dating for two years and had known each for much longer than that. Mingi sometimes worried that he annoyed Yunho with his compliments.

“How could you tell?” Mingi asked with a laugh of his own. Yunho sighed, finally tearing his eyes away from the window to look at Mingi. He set the binoculars down carefully before moving to sit next to Mingi on the floor. They’d been kneeling next to the window for quite a few hours, it was nice to stretch their legs.

“My knees were starting to kill me, anyway,” Yunho said, bumping shoulders with Mingi playfully. Instead of taking the bait of roughhousing, Mingi closed his eyes and leaned into him, sliding down the wall a bit more so that he could comfortably rest his head on Yunho’s shoulder.

“You scraped them pretty bad in your fake wipe out,” Mingi pointed out. He couldn’t see the scrapes anymore with Yunho’s long, black skinny jeans covering the entirety of his legs but Mingi didn’t have to see them to know they couldn’t be feeling too good right about now.

“Should’ve gone into acting,” Yunho quipped.

“A famous boyfriend would be nice,” Mingi hummed.

“Hey, hey, I’m technically famous.”

“More like _we’re_ technically _infamous_ ,” Mingi corrected. Most people, anyone that paid attention to the news anyway, would’ve heard of ATEEZ at some point. Their specific names wouldn’t be well known, and neither would their codenames, but they were attached to their organization’s fame at least a little bit. No common, everyday citizen would know who they were or what they were, though, if they walked the street, even in full uniform.

“Not really the same thing, is it?”

“Nope,” Mingi agreed. “But I don’t need a famous boyfriend…”

“I wasn’t worried,” Yunho agreed, knowing Mingi all too well.

“Do you think Gunho got to school alright today?” Mingi asked, changing the subject. Yunho’s little brother, seven years of age, would have woken up to an empty house today. Usually, one or both of them were there to help make sure things went smoothly until he left the house at the very least, but this job required both of them. It was too risky, and more people meant more eyes to see the potential dangers coming their way.

“Don’t worry,” Yunho comforted. “I woke him up before we left to tell him, I’m sure he’ll be fine. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to get ready by himself, anyway.”

Mingi knew that, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to worry still. Yunho’s little brother was basically his little brother at this point. He spent all his free time at Yunho’s small apartment when he wasn’t working or trying to get his father off the couch to go to work. After what had happened to Yunho’s own parents, he had been left to single-handedly raise his younger brother. It had been a struggle just to keep custody of the boy and another whole uphill battle making sure it couldn’t be taken away. Whatever Mingi could do to help, he would do in a heartbeat without Yunho even having to ask. He never had asked for Mingi’s help, not wanting to burden him with his struggles on top of his own, but he knew Yunho depended on him a lot regardless. That always gave Mingi a boost of confidence. Yunho was so much better at literally everything sometimes Mingi wondered what a guy like that was doing with a guy like him in the first place.

“If you’re sure,” Mingi conceded. “How much longer do you think this’ll take?”

“I’m not sure,” Yunho admitted. “Hongjoong didn’t exactly give us a stop time or anything specific to take note of. We got their cars, though, so unless they switch to do their dirty work, which is a very real possibility, we’ll know where they’re going at all times of the day.”

Mingi nodded. He knew all that already; he just wanted to know if all that meant they could go home and take a nap. Probably not, if he were being realistic.

“Do you—”

Mingi’s next question was interrupted by the sound of Yunho’s phone beeping at them; an alarm that meant one of the bugs planted on the cars had been activated. Someone had started up their car and were about to be on the move again. Without any words needing to be spoken between the two of them, both Yunho and Mingi got back into their positions, Yunho watching his phone with rapt attention and Mingi begrudgingly picking back up his binoculars to wait for Yunho’s next instructions.

“Who’s is it?” He asked, his earlier question of “do you think we can leave, then?” forgotten completely.

“Seonghwa’s,” Yunho answered. When Mingi didn’t respond right away, Yunho elaborated: “The youngest son, you really need to pay more attention.”

“His name doesn’t matter to me,” Mingi laughed. “I’m not the one in charge of seducing him.”

He didn’t even have to look to know Yunho was rolling his eyes at him.

“Anyway, he just started up his car. If he’s coming home, he’ll be coming in from the left.”

“Got it,” Mingi affirmed, immediately adjusting his binoculars to keep a lookout for the man’s red sports car. “Hey, do you think Soonghwo—”

“Seonghwa.”

“Whatever, do you think he’s high maintenance?”

“Are you delirious?”

“No no, can you just imagine Hongjoong with someone like that?”

Yunho laughed quietly.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve got it backward,” Yunho said. “Hongjoong would be the high maintenance one with how poorly he manages his time and functions daily.”

“Oh no… Are you insinuating they’d both be divas? I can barely handle Hongjoong sometimes…”

“How do you know Seonghwa would be high maintenance?”

“Have you seen the car he drives?”

Yunho snorted.

“Fair enough,” he gave in. “But it’s not like we’ll have to deal with Seonghwa for very long, anyway.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Mingi conceded, finally getting his binoculars in the correct working order.

“He’s coming down this road now,” Yunho told him.

Mingi scanned the area quickly and expertly.

“Got him,” he said, as the dark red and black sports car came driving down the street. He was still a ways away, Mingi had to remind himself because of the magnification level of his scope. He had to admit, though, the man had a nice car even if it was a little over the top for his own tastes.

Mingi followed the man’s every movement with his binoculars, watching as he got closer and closer to the place they’d been staking out all day.

“He must be listening to music,” Mingi reported.

“That’s what the bug says,” Yunho agreed, pulling up the data their tracking device was pulling from the car. “How’d you guess?”

“He’s dancing,” Mingi chuckled. “What a painfully normal guy. Besides all the money, of course.”

“Hey, just because he’s a criminal doesn’t mean he won’t appear normal. We’re “painfully normal guys” to outsiders too, you know.”

“Right, right,” Mingi said. “As always.”

The sports car pulled up next to the curb in much the same spot it was in earlier that morning before the engine cut off and Seonghwa emerged from the vehicle. He went to the trunk, pulling out what Mingi deduced was probably his school backpack before beginning to head inside the manor.

“He’s pulling out his cellphone.” Mingi adjusted the focus of his binoculars just a bit more. “He’s calling someone.”

In the blink of an eye, Yunho was pulling an earpiece from his jacket and plugging it into his ear. Mingi tapped the one he always kept in his ear for easy use, turning it off mute to listen in on whatever conversation Yunho was about to have with someone.

“Yeosang,” Yunho said.

“At your service,” Yeosang’s voice immediately said in response through their commlinks.

“Seonghwa’s making a call over here at the manor, think you can trace it?”

“What’s the number?”

Mingi spoke up this time, having shortly memorized the number Seonghwa had typed into his phone. They didn’t know Seonghwa’s phone number yet—hopefully, Hongjoong could get it from him—so the number he was calling was the next best thing.

“Are you sure that’s the number?” Yeosang asked.

“Yes,” Mingi said without a doubt. He had watched the man type it in very carefully for this specific reason. He found it strange that the person he was calling wasn’t a saved contact to begin with.

“I can’t find it, give me a minute,” Yeosang said. The sound of static on the other end cut off, signaling Yeosang had muted himself as he went deep into full computer geek mode as Mingi always put it. Wooyoung had complained a few too many times that Yeosang would narrate everything he was doing whenever he was deep in thought so he muted himself every time it happened to appease him. No one else really minded his stream of consciousness, but Wooyoung’s tendency to scream through the earpieces was enough to get Yeosang to mute himself just so Wooyoung would stop complaining about it.

Yunho and Mingi had to wait but a few minutes before Yeosang got back on the link.

“So the number has to be correct because the signal is bouncing off of literally every cell tower within a ten-mile radius. The person on the other end of the line really doesn’t want to be found, since normal cell numbers don’t do that. How annoying,” Yeosang said

“Can you do anything to find its owner?” Yunho asked.

“Nope, because the phone number he dialed probably isn’t even the actual phone number he connected with. It probably changed five or six times in between connecting their phones. It’s really genius, I’ve never seen something like this outside of my own work,” Yeosang said. “There’s no way I can decrypt it fast enough before he hangs up the call.”

“Damn,” Yunho swore. “Thanks for trying.”

“My pleasure. I’ll keep working on it.  If he calls the number again, I’ll know.”

“Okay,” Yunho said, then he turned the earpiece off. He focused his attention back to Mingi. “Can you read what he’s saying?”

Mingi shook his head.

“He went inside before the call connected; hasn’t walked past a window since heading inside.”

“What could he be hiding?”

“Something sketchy, probably,” Mingi answered.

“Never would’ve guessed.”

“You asked, I answered.”

Yunho was rolling his eyes again, though Mingi couldn’t see. He just knew he had to be.

Before Yunho could say anything more, Mingi heard Yeosang start speaking again through the earpiece he hadn’t turned off.

“Hongjoong wants us all at the hideout,” he said. “I guess our meeting is starting now.”

“Be right over,” Mingi said. He gratefully pulled his eyes away from the blasted binoculars and looked at Yunho who was already watching him.

“You’re staring at me…?”

“You’re pretty.”

“Oh haha,” Mingi chortled. “Very funny.”

“What did Yeosang say?”

“Hongjoong wants us back at HQ as soon as possible, Ghost is on his way.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely love using foreshadowing, and the best part about actually having a plan going into this story is that I can foreshadow so much it's fantastic. If you don't catch it all, however, just remember foresight is 20/20, so there's no real penalty anyway ^_^ Please enjoy the chapter, I worked tirelessly around my chaotic work schedule to get this done for all of you! 
> 
> Oh and just for a reference, a quick definition I'd like to make for all you. "Credits" are what I'm calling my centralized money system since it's a futuristic story set in an undisclosed location lol. But basically, one Credit is equivalent to one USD as most cyberpunk-y settings use. Thanks!

~Yeosang~

“What are you doing in here?” Yeosang asked, not even needing to look away from his computers to know who it was that had decided to invade his personal space. And it wasn’t because he had everyone in their organization’s locations pulled up on one of his monitors at all times. No—though, that did help confirm his intuition—he just knew because there was only one person on the team that violated his personal space without a second thought as frequently as this one did. Jongho hovered behind him, practically leaning on his shoulder as he watched what Yeosang was doing.

“What do you mean what am I doing here?” Jongho asked with a chuckle. “Am I not allowed to be in here?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be outside watching over the building?” Yeosang asked, unable to keep the slight bitterness out of his voice as he continued to type away at his keyboard. He wasn’t going to let this distraction waste time that could be better spent doing literally _anything_ else. He knew exactly why Jongho was in here, and he knew it had absolutely nothing to do with what Hongjoong had assigned him last night.

Jongho snorted.

“Right, because you don’t already have that covered,” he said, pointing to the three monitors above Yeosang. They were constantly switching between different cameras and drones Yeosang had placed around the building. If he remembered correctly, Jongho had even helped him set up those cameras about a year and a half ago. Yeosang knew Hongjoong was aware of the security system, was aware that Yeosang had a program running constantly that ran every face his cameras picked up against Agony databases. He hadn’t just “forgotten” Yeosang did what he had assigned Jongho to do today on a daily basis and had been for the past two years or “ran out of jobs for Jongho to do”. No… ever since Yeosang’s accident two years ago, Hongjoong had made sure there was someone at the hideout with Yeosang at all times. Too bad it was almost always Jongho who was assigned to the building.

“Why don’t you go home, then?” Yeosang asked, anger growing the longer Jongho played dumb.

“Hyung…” He trailed off, finally giving it to what Yeosang was hinting at. He always did. These interactions happened quite frequently. “You know we do this because we care about you, right? Not because we don’t think you’re capable enough. I— _We_ don’t want to see you like that again…”

Yeosang tensed at his words, fingers freezing over the keys he was going to use next. He felt a shiver go up his spine as he remembered that day, a ghost of a pain throbbing through his upper back. He shook the feelings off, subconsciously ruffling the hair at the back of his neck to hide the small implants of technology that stuck out of his skin. He hoped the makeup he had covering the scar across the bridge of his nose hadn’t worn off yet, either, but he was too nervous to check in front of Jongho. It’d been two years; it didn’t matter anymore. He’d gotten smarter, more prepared. It wasn’t going to happen again with or without supervision.

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Yeosang said, glancing over at Jongho. He ended up doing a double-take. The man’s face was literally inches from his. His next words died on his tongue when he realized he was face to face with the man.

“Sorry,” Jongho mumbled, backing away from Yeosang and looking like he’d just gotten caught doing something wrong before he grabbed a nearby chair and rolled it to sit next to Yeosang instead of hovering right above his shoulder and apparently staring at him while he was at it. “I know you don’t need a babysitter, I just worry.”

“Save my life once and you become my new mother,” Yeosang snorted. Jongho laughed.

“We have this argument every time, you’ll just have to accept that I—” Jongho cleared his throat. “That _we_ care about you.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Yeosang grumbled, getting back to his work.

“Why don’t _you_ go home?” Jongho asked, turning Yeosang’s earlier question back on him.

“I’m actually working,” Yeosang said. “Just because you aren’t doesn’t mean others aren’t.”

Jongho didn’t even respond to the obvious insult.

“Did you sleep at all?” He asked instead.

“Yes,” Yeosang said. He hadn’t slept nearly as much as he probably should’ve before getting right back to his computers, but he couldn’t exactly help it. He _had_ to make sure all the spyware that had infected his computers were actually taken care of and wiped thoroughly. There was way too much information on these servers that could ruin not only their lives if it fell into the wrong hands but the lives of everyone even loosely connected to them as well. Needless to say, Yeosang probably couldn’t have gotten a full night of sleep even if he had wanted to; his anxiety over the issue had kept him up practically all night long as it was.

“How long?”

“Three hours?” Yeosang asked more than said. He wasn’t entirely sure what time he actually ended up falling asleep. He was just happy he got any sleep at all, even though he was probably about to get lectured right now.

“At least…” Jongho started, cutting himself off with a sigh before clicking his tongue in disapproval. “At least it's better than nothing.”

“And you say you’re not babysitting me,” Yeosang grumbled. “I’m older than you. You don’t have to manage my life.”

“You’re right, you’re right. My apologies, your highness.”

Yeosang rolled his eyes, deciding that this conversation was stupid and would only continue to go in circles. He turned his full attention back to his screens, practically sighing in relief when he noticed the rest of the members were almost all here. Then, he’d no longer have to entertain Jongho. He still had at least ten minutes before everyone got here, and he knew he wasn’t getting rid of Jongho until then.

“You look nice today, by the way,” Jongho spoke up again, breaking the mere seconds long silence that had settled between them. Yeosang turned to look at him in confusion. Where in the world had something like that come from? Jongho’s eyes flickered left and right before looking back at Yeosang, beginning to look increasingly like what he had just said wasn’t supposed to actually have come out of his mouth.

“Thanks, I guess,” Yeosang mumbled as he turned back to his computer, willing away the heat from his face.  Jongho really was an enigma to him. Yeosang solved complex math and engineering problems on the daily, but Jongho? Jongho would forever remain an unsolvable mystery to him. He hadn’t even done anything special today versus any other day. Just a few cosmetics to cover up the scars on his face and make him look less exhausted. He had changed his eye color today, though, just to switch it up a bit. He had cybernetic eyes, he might as well use them to their fullest. Plus, he’d always wanted to have blue eyes over his old brown ones.

“Not that you don’t look nice every other day. I just meant that today you look nicer…? Your eyes are cool-looking. I forget that you can change them whenever you want now. But like I don’t—”

“Jongho, for the love of God, stop,” Yeosang cut him off, saving the man from himself. Jongho shut his mouth quickly, leaving them finally in a silence that lasted longer than a few seconds. But this time, Yeosang almost wished Jongho would find something new to ramble on about with how thick the air had become with awkward tension.

A bell-like ringtone cut through the silence after a few minutes. Both of them jumped at the noise but then Yeosang sighed in relief. Finally, something to do so he didn’t have to pretend to be busy in a heavy silence. He pushed off from where his main terminal was kept, rolling his desk chair off to a side table he had set up earlier today. His laptop sat ablaze with light, thousands of lines of bright green text scrolling endlessly down a black screen as a red “download complete” dialogue box flashed in time with the ringtone.

“Fantastic,” Yeosang smiled, interlacing his fingers to crack his knuckles with three satisfying pops before hitting the enter key and beginning his next tasks.

He was vaguely aware of Jongho once again peering over his shoulder curiously.

“What are you doing now?” Jongho asked.

“Do you remember how I said yesterday that I’d found spyware on our servers?” Yeosang asked.

“Uhh… Yes?” Jongho answered slowly. “Though, I have no idea what any of that means.”

Yeosang snorted but went on to explain anyway. He wasn’t really surprised by Jongho’s admittance; he was honestly expecting that response.

“So our servers are basically like giant filing cabinets with an infinite amount of space where I store all our important information; all of it. Basically, anything you can think of even remotely connected to us.”

“Including our names?” Jongho asked.

“And codenames, addresses, any aliases we’ve used, bank routing numbers, phone numbers, you name it,” Yeosang agreed.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Normally yes, but I’ve put so many different layers of encryption on all the information, you’d only see a strange unreadable group of symbols, characters, and numbers if you looked at it,” Yeosang continued. “Only people with the key…”

Yeosang pulled at the retractable keychain he kept attached to his belt at all times to show off the singular portable USB drive where his keys were encoded to Jongho. He left out the part that his cyber-eyes were programmed to automatically view documents on his screen without needing to physically plug in his keys. He figured explaining how that advanced technology worked would only confuse the younger man more than he needed to be. Plus, Jongho probably really didn’t care what it was that Yeosang’s eyes were capable of. He only really needed to know that Yeosang could use them to see since he’d lost his eyesight from two years ago and that their color could be changed on command.

“Can view the actual information. But spyware, that is little viruses planted on the same network as the information, works to decrypt encoded information without any keys in every way that makes sense, trying every possible combination until it gets something right and then sends the information wherever its owner tells it to. Or, it could just wait until I physically decrypt it myself and then make a copy to send off to wherever it’s programmed to.”

“And you’re saying stuff like that was looking through our stuff?”

“Unfortunately,” Yeosang sneered. “But I triple checked everything, changed all the patterns around and added more once I found that they existed. I’m ninety-nine-point-nine percent certain they didn’t get any actual information.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Oh for sure,” Yeosang agreed. “Now we just need to figure out who’s these things are and what they were looking for specifically.”

“How do you find that out?” Jongho asked.

All these questions… Yeosang was unsure if the man was actually interested in what he was doing or if he was only asking so that they wouldn’t continue sitting in strained silence. Whichever it really was, Yeosang was just happy to have someone listen to him. After all of Wooyoung’s complaining about his tendency to think out loud, he had gotten the impression that no one really cared about understanding the logistics of what he was doing only that he got the job done. So he’d take this opportunity, fake or not, to talk about his passion.

“Well, first off, when I call them “filing cabinets” and “bugs”, that’s all a little misleading. All a server really is, all the spyware really is, is a bunch of lines of code. They don’t have a physical shape anywhere, just letters, numbers and symbols on my computer screen. So that both makes finding out what the bugs were supposed to be looking for easy and challenging at the same time. I can’t just read their code because it’s all been encrypted with so many different variables all calling each other to do different functions in endless, confusing loops. Without having coded it myself, it would take too long to decipher it all. But instead, I can copy the code and run it in a simulation with all the same information as our actual servers but instead, just change where it’s sending the information once it gets it.”

“Did you figure out what it was looking for then?”

“Not yet, the simulation is still running in the background.”

“So what are you doing now?”

“I’m trying to figure out who made the code.”

“And how would you do that?”

“It’s actually a lot easier than one would think,” Yeosang started. “For starters, every programmer has their own style of coding, their own quirks, their own way of formatting things. It’s almost like our signature without ever actually having to sign our names.”

“So what? You just run the spyware’s code against known programmers’ works and see if anything matches up?”

“Yeah… That’s exactly how I’d do that,” Yeosang said bewildered. “How’d you know?”

“I’m not dumb,” Jongho laughed. “What do you take me for? An idiot?”

A few seconds of silence passed before Jongho broke it:

“Actually, don’t answer that…”

Yeosang giggled.

“I don’t think you’re an idiot,” Yeosang said, turning to face Jongho and once again finding himself startlingly close to the younger man. He was leaning over him, hands propped on either side on the arms of the chair Yeosang was seated in. His head hovered just above his shoulder. Yeosang’s smile slowly faded from his face as Jongho continued to watch Yeosang’s ever-changing laptop screen. Jongho glanced down at him, his eyes flitting back to the screen and then back to Yeosang as he realized he was looking at him.

Then they were staring at each other. These situations happened way too often whenever the two of them were alone. They’d known each other for two years now and even went to high school together, so why in the world were they still always so awkward together? Yeosang couldn’t understand it. He cleared his throat, always the first to break their strange staring contests.

“You’re just a bit… slow sometimes,” he mumbled.

“Ouch,” Jongho laughed. “I’m hurt.”

Yeosang rolled his eyes, a small smile coming back to his face despite himself. He opened his mouth to continue their banter, but his earpiece beeped incessantly in his ear instead, signaling someone was trying to get in touch with him. He tapped it twice, unmuting himself as Jongho did the same, removing himself from Yeosang’s personal space finally. Yeosang pulled down the sleeves of his shirt that he had rolled up a while ago, suddenly feeling a little chilly.

“Is everyone on?” Yeosang heard Hongjoong’s voice ask.

Everyone radioed back an affirmative response in turn order, oldest to youngest as they’d decided a long time ago. Yunho first since Hongjoong had asked the question, all the way down to Jongho.

“Fantastic, before Ghost arrives I want to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Hongjoong started. “First of all, we’re going to strictly refer to each other as our codenames from now on since we don’t know this guy and it could be just an elaborate espionage mission.”

They all agreed again.

“Second, Aurora, when you get the chance, get dressed and meet the rest of us in the main room of the hideout.”

“Yes sir,” Jongho agreed, grabbing his hat and adjusting his face mask properly across his face. Yeosang picked up Jongho’s red bandana that he had left on his table, holding it up for him to take and tie around his arm before he left. Jongho patted Yeosang’s shoulder in goodbye before leaving the room and joining the rest of the team beginning to file into the warehouse. Yeosang watched them all through his cameras form a perimeter around the large, empty room, slinking into the shadows to be unseen except for Hongjoong who waited out in the middle and appeared to be completely alone. That would change very quickly once Ghost had actually shown up. They always ran this scare tactic whenever someone wanted to meet with the whole group. That didn’t happen all that often, however, but it had never failed them before.

“Illusion, do you have your disguise on? We don’t want to risk anything.”

Yeosang rolled his eyes. It’d been forever since he’d actually had to wear his own disguise. He never left the hideout; his job was behind his screens so there’d never been a reason to.

“On it, boss,” he said, pushing his chair out and going to grab his uniform. He pulled his jacket over his red shirt, buttoning it up all the way so only a sliver of red was visible around his neck and wrists. His face mask came next and then his hat. He felt a little ridiculous so dressed up being alone in his lair.

“As for everyone else. You all know the drill. Be on the lookout for anything even remotely suspicious or out of character for what we know about Ghost,” Hongjoong continued on.

“No one’s ever met with the guy in person before now, how are we supposed to know how he normally acts?” Wooyoung asked with a bitter chuckle.

“You know what I mean,” Hongjoong scoffed.

“Do you think this could be a trap?” Mingi asked an edge of worry to his voice.

Before anyone answered, Yeosang’s screens flashed as his cameras outside picked up new, unauthorized movement.

“Little late to worry about that,” Yeosang spoke up. “He’s arrived.”

“Filters on, boys.”

Their communications went silent as they waited for the man of the hour to enter their hideout. Yeosang pressed a button, causing the entrance door to slide open slowly. Ghost walked inside the building then, strolling casually as if he had all the time in the world. Yeosang closed the sliding door behind him, making sure no one else could get in or out while this meeting commenced.

Yeosang snorted taking in the man’s appearance. He wasn’t dressed in his usual getup; or at least, he wasn’t dressed as everyone had come to expect from this professional. His normal, signature fox mask was nowhere to be seen for one. Instead, he was wearing practically the same outfit as all of them. All black; long jacket that reached his knees, gloves, pants. A rimmed hat on his head, a face mask covering the lower half of his face. He even had his own splash of red: a thick ribbon tied tightly around his neck. The man had certainly done his research on them.

He had no visible weapons on him and carried nothing in his hands. Yeosang pulled up his cameras to every monitor he had available, watching the meeting happening in the next room over from every possible angle. He zoomed in on what he could see of the man’s face. There were no unique marks; nothing that could help identify the man besides bright blue eyes and a few stray black hairs sticking out from under his hat. Yeosang supposed that this was the most Ghost had ever shown of his face, however, so Yeosang had nothing to run the small number of features he could see against, anyway.

He walked calmly to meet Hongjoong in the middle of the room, stopping five feet away from him, looking directly and solely at their leader. Even as the other members of the team slowly came out of the darkness to surround the two of them in a wide circle, Ghost didn’t give any indication that he had even noticed.

“Long time no see,” Ghost joked, addressing Hongjoong. Like the rest of the team, he had a filter on disguising his voice.

“I see you made good use of my hat,” Hongjoong shot back. Yeosang had had to sit through Hongjoong’s frustration last night as he had made up another hat for him to use after he “lost” his due to the kidnapping, grumbling the entire time about how strange of a guy this man was.

“Do you like it? I think the uniform suits me. Not bad, right?” Ghost said, even going as far as to spin around, showing off his new style. “For such short notice, anyway.”

“I’m confused. Are you joining our team or just asking for our help?”

“I figured I’d raise less suspicion if I looked like one of you while we worked together,” he explained. “And, who knows? Maybe we’ll fall in love with each other and this can  be a more permanent thing.”

Hongjoong snorted; a noise that sounded very strange through his filter.

“So you’re serious about taking down Agony?”

“Wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

“Why now of all times? Why us?”

“I figured as an ex-Agony agent yourself, you’d understand why I’d want to get rid of them. I’m assuming everyone on your team, here, has their own issues with the organization too. What better a team than one that hates Agony as much as I do,” Ghost explained. Hongjoong, as well as everyone else, shuffled uncomfortably at Ghost’s words. Yeosang was utterly baffled by this information. Not because he hadn’t heard that information before—though the rest of the team hadn’t—but because he was almost completely sure he had erased everything that had tied Hongjoong to his unfortunate past.

“Oh my bad,” Ghost continued. “Did they all not know you were ex-Agony, too?”

“How’d you get that information?” Hongjoong practically snarled.

“I’m a _very_ thorough person, King. I don’t do anything without being one hundred percent certain it will turn out the way I want it to. That’s why now. That’s why you and your team. Because I’m certain this will work.” Ghost then added: “I have no intention of sharing the information I’ve learned about you, however.”

“I see…” Hongjoong said. “I hadn’t told them.”

“Painful memories,” Ghost agreed. “Agony killed my mother. Well… the only woman who was as close to a mother as I ever got, right in front of my eyes and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. So, I understand your pain.”

Yeosang remembered how he had first met Hongjoong. The man had been working alone then, so had Yeosang. He’d dug up all the information he could on the elusive soloist, Pirate King, uncovering his real identity and his unfortunate background. Hongjoong’s parents had been Agony agents back before the organization had turned so nefarious. But once the Governor took over and murder had become their norm, Agony had wanted to train little ten-year-old Hongjoong to be one of their new-age agents. His parents had tried to leave the organization, but Agony didn’t let them get far, sending hitmen to destroy any liabilities. Hongjoong had survived the attack but his parents hadn’t been so lucky. He’d grown up an orphan, turning to a life of crime in order to get back at the organization who’d ruined his life. He and Yeosang had that in common. Yeosang had blackmailed the man to meet with him and then had practically begged the older man to let him work with him. Hongjoong had let Yeosang into his life, quickly becoming his friend and helping to cultivate his skills. Yeosang hadn’t told anyone of Hongjoong’s background by request of the man. If Agony ever found out, he’d quickly be killed to tie up loose ends. Plus, he wasn’t exactly proud of his backgrounds. But here was Ghost, who had somehow discovered all this information despite Yeosang’s attempts to eradicate it from the face of the earth. He even had the gall to tell the entire team about Hongjoong’s background. Yeosang knew the information wouldn’t cause any issues; every single one of them on the team respected their leader so much, there was hardly anything that could cause them to defect. Still, he wondered how everyone was handling the information.

“I’m not too keen on telling that information to just everyone like you are,” Hongjoong snapped back. Yeosang could tell he was starting to get angry. “I’m not proud of what I’d been apart of in the past. My parents died trying to protect me because their “family” betrayed them. I want Agony taken down just as much as everyone else in this room.”

“Fantastic,” Ghost agreed, an obvious smile hiding behind that face mask. “So do we have a deal?”

“You know, people usually have to pay to take out contracts with an organized crime ring,” Hongjoong continued.

“I figured you’d say that,” Ghost sighed. He rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a watch hiding underneath. He held up a finger before pointing at Hongjoong at exactly ten o’clock. “You should tell your tech to check your bank account.”

Yeosang immediately began typing away at his computer, opening up their account’s information. He stared at the screen in awe once he was in, his eyes wide with the new numbers that lit up his screen. Seven zeros… two commas. That was more money than Yeosang had ever seen in his life, even coming from a relatively wealthy background himself.

“How much is it?” Hongjoong’s voice asked him through their earpiece.

“Fifty… Fifty million,” Yeosang mumbled.

“What?!”

“Fifty million credits,” Yeosang affirmed.

“How did you get our banking information?”

“I told you, I’m a very thorough person,” Ghost laughed. “So do we have a deal now?”

Hongjoong looked around the room at the rest of his members, checking for any hint of discomfort or disdain. He found none.

“We’re in,” Hongjoong told Ghost.

“Wonderful,” the man agreed. “Now, care to tell me what I’ve bought?”

“I thought you said you were a thorough person,” Hongjoong shot back. “Shouldn’t you know us all already?”

“Humor me?” Ghost asked. “Just to make sure I have it all correct. The customer is always right, isn’t that how it goes?”

“Fine,” Hongjoong said. He turned around, gesturing for Yunho to step forward first. The man, in all his six-foot glory, looked very intimidating in his full uniform. Yeosang sometimes forgot, knowing everyone on the team in a very personal way, that each and every one of them was actually a pretty dangerous criminal. Yunho, who Yeosang knew to be a rather flamboyant jokester, was probably the smartest person on the team besides himself. Never missing a detail and knowing exactly what to do no matter the situation. “This is Utopia, our espionage expert as well as long-term surveillance.”

San stepped forward next without having to be told. He wasn’t nearly as imposing as Yunho due to his shorter height, but he had an air about him when he was in the right mood that just screamed: “don’t fuck with me or I’ll fuck you up.” That mood was out in full force tonight, Yeosang decided. One wrong word and it looked like San could go off in an instant; he probably would too, if the situation arose.

“Desire, our info-broker, fence and the person you should’ve contacted instead of kidnapping me.”

Ghost laughed at that one. Then fell silent once more when Mingi stepped closer next. With his long trench coat and broad figure, he looked even more imposing than Yunho. Though anyone who knew him personally would know he was the biggest baby of them all, he certainly didn’t look it to any outsiders.

“Twilight, our bounty hunter and interrogator.”

Wooyoung was next, coming up to stand next to San, leaning on the man with his elbow propped against his shoulder. The two of them together always scared Yeosang the most. He really never wanted to be on the receiving end of their chaotic ways.

“Treasure, information specialist, and face of the group.”

Jongho stepped up next, the last one to join the circle. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Mingi and Yunho or as outwardly intimidating as Wooyoung and San with just their gazes, but Yeosang would never want to mess with Jongho when he was working. The man didn’t look like it, but under all his layers, was nothing but pure muscle. Yeosang had seen him split countless fruit with just one hand as a “joke” around the hideout, he didn’t think it would be that far of a jump splitting someone’s head if the job called for it.

“Aurora, weapons and combat specialist,” Hongjoong said. “And finally…”

Yeosang knew it was his turn next, but he wasn’t going to leave his room. There was no reason to. He wasn’t at all an imposing person like everyone else without all his technology. Hell, without all his tech, Yeosang wouldn’t be able to see or even move beyond basic functions. So instead, he turned on all the floodlights he had placed around the warehouse, centering them specifically on Ghost as well as arming the many hidden turrets Jongho had helped him set up earlier in the year. He had laser pointers on each of those, all focused directly at the only stranger standing amongst his friends.

“Illusion, our technician.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Yeosang said through the intercom in the main room of the warehouse before disarming all his security measures.

“Impressive,” Ghost admitted. “You all will work perfectly.”

“I’m glad you think so,” San spoke up.

“Now why should we work with you?” Wooyoung continued.

“Because despite what you all might think, that this is a ‘set up’ or a ‘trap’, I am the real Ghost. I’m sure you found the spyware I put on your servers, didn’t you? If your technician is half as good as he’s rumored to be, he should be discovering any moment that those are, in fact, my work. I wanted nothing more than your banking information, more specifically the routing number so that I could properly pay you all for trusting me enough to meet with me. After the job is done, I’ll be transferring the other half of the payment to you. One hundred million is the standard price for organizations, but you’ll be able to take whatever you want from the rotting corpse of the organization once the job is over as well. I have no interest in any of it.”

Hongjoong didn’t say anything, waiting for Yeosang to confirm what Ghost had claimed about the spyware on their servers. He quickly typed away at his computer, pulling up the analysis that had just been completed. It was almost like Ghost had planned every single second of this meeting. From the bank transfer to Yeosang’s complete analysis, it was all a bit too much of a coincidence. For one, Yeosang hadn’t even been aware that the spyware had managed to pull their bank routing numbers. Ghost was good, perhaps even better than what all the whispers on the street said.

“He’s telling the truth,” Yeosang said. “The spyware matched with every sample of Ghost’s code that I have available and its only job was to find account numbers.”

“Illusion confirmed what you said,” Hongjoong said. “Do you have the earpiece I lost when you kidnapped me?”

“I do,” Ghost agreed, pulling the small device of Yeosang’s design out of his pocket. Hongjoong had also complained endlessly about having to adjust to a new earpiece last night too, Yeosang remembered. Hongjoong really had his work cut out for him dealing with this guy.

“Keep it, use it while you’re working with us to stay in touch easier.”

Ghost plugged the earpiece into his ear, turning it on. A new dot appeared on Yeosang’s monitor. One that had been previously labeled ‘Hongjoong’. He quickly changed it to display ‘Ghost’ on his screens to avoid confusion with the newly made ‘Hongjoong’ already up on the screens.

“Now then, let’s get started. Shall we?”

~Wooyoung~

Wooyoung slowly opened his eyes, the afternoon rays of sunlight pouring in through his blinds waking him up much earlier than he had intended. He groaned, pulling the sparse covers on his bed further over himself and turning over on his side. He found what he was looking for then, burying his face in the tan expanse of San’s bare chest to shield his eyes from the angry sunlight. San reacted the way he always did, wrapping an arm around Wooyoung’s waist, pulling him closer, and burying his nose in his hair.

“Afternoon, lovely,” San teased sleepily, Wooyoung’s sudden movements having roused him from sleep too.

“It’s too early,” Wooyoung grumbled.

“Its two in the afternoon,” San laughed after looking at the digital clock Wooyoung kept on his bedside table. “We have a job to do soon, though we should probably grab something to eat before.”

“Can’t you just hold me a little longer?” Wooyoung complained. He pushed at San’s chest, forcing him to lay on his back as Wooyoung swung himself overtop of his body. Getting himself comfortable, he rested his chin on the man’s chest, crossing his arms in front of his face. San looked down at him with a sly smile. His hands traced tiny patterns up his bare thighs, sending a pleasant shiver up Wooyoung’s spine. He knew they couldn’t stay like this for long; they did have a job to do. They were both a mess, having celebrated their sudden millionaire status last night after their meeting by buying the most expensive bottle of wine they could find at the corner convenience store, drinking the entire thing between the two of them and having drunken sex in a multitude of different ways well into the night. San’s hair was sticking up in every direction and Wooyoung was sure his probably was too. A mix of sex, wine, and San’s cheap cologne permeated the air around them, filling Wooyoung’s nostrils with every breath. He felt sticky in places he didn’t want to feel sticky in and every inch of his skin was covered in a film of dried sweat, a wholly uncomfortable feeling. But he really couldn’t care less, he wanted to bask at this moment a little longer. When they all had heard the news that Ghost had transferred a whole fifty million credits to their organization’s pooled bank account, all of them had practically burst into tears on the spot. Obviously, none of them had since crying in front of a guy like that would’ve been wholly unprofessional and completely embarrassing. But the second he was gone; their backroom had become a waterfall of happy and disbelieving tears. Mingi had jumped around like a happy child in a candy store after Ghost had left but Wooyoung knew he went home and balled like a baby the minute he was alone. After Yeosang had divided the funds evenly amongst each of them, _each_ of them had found themselves seven million credits richer. Wooyoung never thought he’d ever see two commas on his bank statement in his whole lifetime. Suddenly, their issues about worrying where their next meal would come from seemed miles away. Sure, some of the funds would be used by each individual for work purposes—Wooyoung was sure Hongjoong had probably already used his entire salary on the organization’s needs—but _7 million_ credits were way more than Wooyoung could ever spend in a lifetime.

Couldn’t they just enjoy the wonderful feeling of not having to worry about money for the rest of their lives for a little bit longer? Before they had to get back to risking their lives and facing the very real risk of early death? Wooyoung certainly wanted to, but he didn’t think it was very viable. As San had said, they had an assignment to do today. Just because they had a glorious payday didn’t mean the job was done.

“I just want to lay here a little longer.”

“Very tempting,” San hummed, digging his nails into Wooyoung’s hips in a sort of nonverbal promise. But he quickly changed his tune, slapping the side of Wooyoung’s ass playfully. “But we need to get ready, you know Yeosang will kill us if we’re not perfectly on schedule.”

Wooyoung sighed.

“You’re right,” he agreed, remembering all the times his longtime friend had lost his temper because of their tendency to get very distracted during their assignments.

“Maybe if things go well tonight, though,” San started, voice lilting ever-so-seductively in a way that always made Wooyoung weak, fingers grazing across the soft skin of his thighs once more. He leaned up, lips brushing his as he spoke. “I’ll take you out for a dinner you deserve.”

San kissed him deeply, slowly and passionately. Wooyoung melted into him, always weak to San and his advances. Perhaps… he was a bit too invested in what was supposed to be a “no strings attached” relationship. But he was too far gone to ever go back at this point.

“Only if you’ll have me for dessert,” Wooyoung whispered. San laughed darkly.

“I thought that was a given.” San leaned up to kiss him again but this time, Wooyoung pulled away just far enough for San’s lips to only graze his.

“We have to get ready remember?” Wooyoung teased. “Wouldn’t want to spoil our evening, now would you?”

“You tease,” San grumbled.

“You love it.”

Wooyoung rolled off San then, as the other rolled his eyes. San got off the bed reluctantly, bedsheets falling off his naked form as he went. Wooyoung watched appreciatively as San dug through their discarded clothes all strewn about the floor. He watched the muscles of his back pull taut as he pulled on his pants and did up his belt. Wooyoung loved the way San looked, from every angle. There was no unflattering side of him. From his perfect proportions to the adorable dimples that appeared at every slight movement of his lips, to the absolutely devastating way he would look at Wooyoung in the heat of the moment, he couldn’t see him ever finding a more perfect person out there in his eyes even if he tried. He hated the thought that anyone else ever got to see the different sides of San as he did. He quickly pushed his jealous thoughts out of his mind. He didn’t want to ruin the moment. Things were going well right now. He could stew over these issues some other time when he wasn’t on top of the fucking world.

When San was fully dressed, he crawled back into Wooyoung’s bed. The springs creaked under his weight as he maneuvered himself to hover over Wooyoung’s still completely bare form.

“Come on, gorgeous, your turn,” San teased. Wooyoung rolled his eyes this time, groaning the entire way out of bed.

“Why couldn’t Mingi and Yunho do this job again?” Wooyoung complained, digging through his dresser to find anything remotely resembling clean clothes. San snorted.

“It’s Yunho’s brother’s birthday, remember? They didn’t want the literal eight-year-old to spend his own birthday alone wondering when his makeshift parents were going to return home if at all.”

Wooyoung groaned again, pulling on a shirt before grabbing a pair of jeans that looked clean enough for going out into public. Wooyoung couldn’t remember the last time he had done laundry… maybe now that he had money to spare he could just go buy all new clothes instead… He liked that idea better.

“Now complaining just makes me sound like an asshole,” Wooyoung complained regardless.

“Sound like?” San teased, not even looking away from his phone as he typed away at the screen.

“Ouch,” Wooyoung mumbled. He put his hands on his hips when he was finished getting dressed, standing over San who still lounged comfortably in Wooyoung’s bed. “Are you ready to go?”

San sighed, locking his phone and pouting up at Wooyoung.

“Don’t give me that, you’re the one who was adamant about getting this done now.”

He whined in surrender, holding out a hand in a silent plea for Wooyoung to help him up. Wooyoung rolled his eyes but grabbed San’s outstretched hand anyway, yanking him off the bed.

“Thanks,” San told him, kissing his nose as he went. Wooyoung went cross-eyed watching him, blushing when he realized what had happened. San giggled at him.

“Yeah whatever,” Wooyoung mumbled, knowing that the gesture was not done in affection like he’d wanted for a while but rather to get a reaction out of him. That’s what their relationship was after all. Nothing wholly affectionate, just chasing after wonderful reactions and riding highs. And as always, San was one hundred percent oblivious to Wooyoung’s feelings for a person who was supposed to be able to read a room in under five seconds. Wooyoung couldn’t exactly just tell San about his feelings, either. He’d probably get laughed at and then mercilessly made fun of in the aftermath. He’d seen how San had dealt with confessions in the past and he had absolutely no motivation to be on the receiving end of such treatment. “Let’s just get this over with.”

They left Wooyoung’s dingy two-bedroom apartment then, unsurprised to find that Yeosang had already left a long time ago if he had even come home at all. Usually, Jongho or Hongjoong made sure the older man went home for at least a few hours at a time, but both Wooyoung and San had been way too drunk last night to even remember that anything besides the two of them existed outside Wooyoung’s room. Wooyoung really hoped his friend had gotten some sleep; he suddenly felt really guilty for getting so lost in his own little fantasy last night. Though, he was certain everyone had celebrated the payday in their own way. Yeosang had probably just stayed up all night trying to decide what tech he wanted to buy now that he didn’t have a budget. It made Wooyoung feel better to think of that option over the latter. Ever since his accident a few years ago… he’d been a lot rougher around the edges. Wooyoung couldn’t blame him really after what had happened but that wasn’t going to stop the entire team from wanting to treat him like the perfect angel he’d once been.

He and San stopped by the vending machine right outside the exit to the complex Wooyoung lived in, purchasing two sandwiches for their lunch to eat on the way to the broadcast station that would be the target of this little heist. Now, usually, Mingi and Yunho would complete these kinds of missions. But as San had told Wooyoung earlier, the two of them were too busy playing house for the day to carry out this plan. Yunho had given them an idea of what to do but he knew better, or at least he should’ve by this point than to actually give them a step by step plan on what to do. He and San would concoct their own plan—probably on the spot and completely improvised—so there really was no point. Besides, both of them were completely convinced that there wasn’t a situation on earth, heaven or hell that they couldn’t talk their way out of. It hadn’t happened yet, and they were confident it never would so this job… piece of cake. They’d do this, get in, get out, and then get _the_ most expensive dinner they could find without a reservation because they never planned anything anyway.

After Hongjoong had accepted Ghost’s proposal, the entire team, plus their new temporary member, had discussed how to move forward with the operation. Ghost had a few interesting insights; though, to be perfectly honest, Wooyoung was one hundred percent convinced the man hadn’t expected to get this far. He seemed a little underprepared and only when asked specific questions about certain Agony movements was he able to give thorough answers. It’s a good thing Hongjoong was overprepared and had a million ideas about how to go about doing this. They offset each other well since everyone else on the team was pretty much in between the two of them. Ghost was able to confirm for them, however, a few of the rumors Wooyoung and San had dug up surrounding Park Seonghwa to be one-hundred percent true. Most importantly, he was able to confirm that Park Seonghwa was, in fact, gay; however, his family was unaware of this information. How the man had come to know that information when Seonghwa was apparently closeted, Wooyoung would never know and didn’t care enough to ask. So operation “Seduce Park Seonghwa”, as San had dubbed it, was now a full go. Hongjoong had still been rather hesitant but after everyone, including Ghost himself, had said it needed to be done and was their only option right now, Hongjoong began to get more confident. (Wooyoung and San had practically begged the older man to know what he did to cause such a reaction from Seonghwa earlier that day. Apparently, Hongjoong had felt confident enough to wink at the man as he walked by. San and Wooyoung had laughed for hours upon learning this information.)

Ghost had also told them of a gala event that would be held at the Governor’s mansion later on in the month to celebrate their investors and shareholders for the family company. If they could manage to procure an invitation or make a copy and fake it, that could be the perfect opportunity to get inside the mansion without raising any sort of suspicion. Ghost was able to confirm that most, if not all, of the organization’s information, was stored in a very protected server in the mansion. Most of their business transactions, meetings, and higher personal briefings were done at the mansion as well. So while Agony had no set headquarters as ATEEZ did, the mansion was the closest they were going to get to one and held the most information.

But none of that really had to do with what San and Wooyoung were tasked with doing now. No, this mini-operation was more of a PR stunt. Almost everyone in the country, even outside of the country at this point, knew how shady and absolutely horrible Agony had become in the last twelve years. Every other organization that had tried in the past had either been absolutely demolished, every member murdered or forced to go into hiding, or paid off to just disappear. Even the police and the government itself had stopped trying to handle the situation. So everyone had lost hope a long, long time ago that there were nothing and no one that would be able to stop Agony from taking advantage of, murdering, blackmailing, extorting, and bribing literally anyone who crossed their paths. Hell, even most of the team currently at one point in their lives had lost hope before they had met Hongjoong. In Wooyoung’s case, he had watched for years as his father, once a well-respected and perfectly honest accountant, was blackmailed into covering up fraud, embezzling money, and fencing illegal goods for the company. He had been hired by them, forced into doing their dirty work after having his and his family’s lives threatened, and then forced to keep doing it or else they would reveal all that he had done for them. Wooyoung hated what that fucking organization had reduced his once-proud father to, hated how constantly anxious his mother was, hated how they tried to hide their financial struggles from him and his brother even though they both knew exactly what was happening, hated that he couldn’t do a thing about it. But now, he could. He could save his father, his family; he had made Yeosang promise to erase anything even remotely connecting his father to the organization once everything was said and done. There was no way he was backing down now, not when everything was within their grasp. He was sure San had similar motives for joining the team and wanting to risk his life to save the people Agony had fucked over. He had never confided in Wooyoung what those reasons were and Wooyoung never asked, able to clearly tell that the topic was a rather touchy one for the man, but he didn’t need to know his exact reasons to see his passions ran deep.

With this little stunt, they were hoping to give the world that same kind of hope. That there was someone out there who was going to take down the corrupt megacorporation for good. And not just any other organization but rather a group of nameless individuals who had only ever had the best intentions when it came to breaking the law. A group of modern-day Robin Hoods who had the common person in mind because they themselves were common people. Perhaps, if they could touch the right people with their message, they could gain even more of an upper hand in this operation. Of course, doing this would also result in Agony becoming increasingly aware of their organization as well. However, this was a risk all of them were willing to take. They’d be ready this time. None of them wanted what had happened two years ago at their old hideout to ever happen again.

Yeosang had come up with the idea. His plan was to hijack the channel nine news broadcast to display their message. Channel nine was notorious for being in the pockets of the Agony organization; almost none of their content was anti-Agony and they sang praise for the Governor all day, every day. What better a place to broadcast a message saying that they were going to take down that organization than the organization’s biggest fan outlet?

It would actually be a fairly easy task, according to Yeosang anyway. Whenever Yeosang said something was going to be easy Wooyoung automatically tripled the difficulty level just by default. Not that he couldn’t handle it, it was just that Yeosang had a very skewed view of what the word “easy” actually meant. He loved the guy, he really did, but sometimes Yeosang just overestimated his expectations of them.

All they had to do was make their way into the broadcast station, somehow manage to navigate the building to find where they kept the computers that actually connected them to their broadcast channel, plug in the USB Yeosang had given them, leave it in for approximately thirty seconds while his virus downloaded itself onto the computers, and bing bang boom they were done in thirty minutes tops.

The two of them had managed to sneak into the building just fine, pretending to be fans of some idol group that was visiting the station that day and following the limited number of fans they had let pass through. They didn’t have tickets obviously since those had sold out months ago and they had only planned this yesterday, but five hundred credits and a charming smile from the both of them really went a long way to someone who was only paid minimum wage to guard a door against crazed and desperate fans. It was also incredibly easy to sneak away from the group once they were inside. Literally, no one was paying them any attention, all attention was focused solely on the interview with the group. This part of the plan had come from Yunho. The only part of the plan that the two of them actually remembered and that was only because they had been reminded of it when they showed up to the front door and found it swamped by tons of people. It really was the perfect cover. He doubted they would run into very many people walking the hallways of the station while there was a live broadcast happening but even if they did, he doubted it would be much of a problem.

“Alright, now where do we go?” San had turned to him once they had successfully managed to escape the room where they had initially been led to. Wooyoung shrugged. San sighed.

Wooyoung tapped his earpiece twice, turning it on and then speaking:

“Illusion.” He’d almost called for Yeosang by his real name, catching himself at the last minute after he remembered that Ghost could potentially be listening in. “We’re in the station, where are we going now?”

“Hold on,” Yeosang responded immediately, unsurprisingly ready to assist at a moment’s notice. The man was hardly ever away from his computers nowadays. Wooyoung and San waited but a few seconds, presumably while Yeosang was trying to find the station’s layout, for him to get back to them. “Alright, so they took you to stage one for the idol thing, right?”

“Yeah,” Wooyoung said, looking at the small plaque next to the door they had just exited.

“Alright, you’re going to go to the left, all the way down the hallway until you can’t go any further and then—”

“Can I help you two with something?” Someone asked Wooyoung in the midst of Yeosang’s explanation. Wooyoung jumped, having been startled as he tried to memorize Yeosang’s instructions quickly. Whipping around, he schooled his utterly shocked reaction, so he didn’t appear so guilty when he came face to face with none other than Park Seonghwa. Dressed expensively, blonde hair styled perfectly, made up face void of any emotion as he looked at the two of them, the man was, even more, striking up close. Wooyoung blanked, completely taken off guard by the man’s sudden appearance. Thankfully, San was much readier to handle the situation.

“We’re a little lost…” San said, faking confusion and rubbing the back of his neck as if he had just gotten caught. Wooyoung mimicked his reaction. Seonghwa, though Yeosang had said he hadn’t killed anyone and wasn’t a very active member of Agony, was still a very dangerous enemy. No doubt he was professionally trained in every outlet of organized crime there was.

“Stage one is where the idol group is, it’s right there,” Seonghwa answered, pointing to the door they had just left. Perhaps, they should’ve walked a little further away from the room before radioing in for help. Next time.

“Actually… we’re looking for something else…” Wooyoung started carefully. He and San shared a faked guilty look to further the ploy they were putting on. “We have a friend who’s totally into TV and like how it all works and stuff.”

“Yeah, he wants to go into the behind the scenes of TV once he graduates,” San continued, understanding quickly where Wooyoung was going with this new narrative. Thankfully, Yeosang had gone quiet on the other end of the line. He hopefully understood what a dire situation they were now in and would stay quiet until they managed to shake Seonghwa off. “He wanted us to like… get pictures of all the computers and stuff, you know? We thought we could just sneak away for a moment and get that for him but we uhh… we don’t know where it is.”

“You’re really not supposed to be back here…” Seonghwa trailed off, his previously blank face contorting into an apologetic look as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. Was he nervous? Wooyoung was confused by this reaction. “But… If you don’t tell anyone, I won’t.”

“Wait? Really!?” Wooyoung immediately exclaimed, genuinely shocked that this man, their enemy, had fallen for their trick. “Thank you so much!”

“Yeah for real, we really appreciate it!” San added on. Seonghwa gave a small, very shy smile, turning around and beginning to walk down the hallway to the left, just as Yeosang had said. He waved over his shoulder for them to follow.

“We have to be quick, though. So no one else catches you.”

They walked for a bit in silence before Wooyoung got an idea. He recalled how Seonghwa had reacted when Hongjoong had winked at him, how he had tried to discretely check out his backside as he walked away. He wondered if Seonghwa knew of Hongjoong if he had been at all interested in him before they even decided to use Hongjoong to get closer to him. He could find the answer to those questions with just a few questions of his own. Seonghwa was harder to read than most normal people, probably due to his Agony background, but Wooyoung was good at his job.

“You’re Park Seonghwa, right?” Wooyoung asked, breaking the silence. Seonghwa glanced back at him, probably trying to get a read on why Wooyoung was asking such a question. He remembered how everyone went out of their way to avoid the man. He probably didn’t have a lot of people willingly talking to him. Maybe on top of Hongjoong seducing him, Wooyoung and San could weasel their way into being his “friends”.

Seonghwa cleared his throat.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he said quietly, probably waiting for the conversation to turn very stilted and the air, thick with tension. Wooyoung had no intention of letting that happen, though.

“I’m kinda surprised to see you here,” Wooyoung admitted. That was true. He didn’t even have to lie.

“My father is here on business,” he explained. Wooyoung didn’t press the topic.

“We go to school together,” San added, again quickly catching on to Wooyoung’s goals. “A friend of ours is actually in your year too. Has a few classes with you.”

“Oh?” Seonghwa asked. Whether that was because he was asking who this friend was or because he was genuinely shocked people were talking to him civilly Wooyoung wasn’t entirely sure.

“Yeah, maybe you know him? Kim Hongjoong? He talks about you all the time,” Wooyoung explained, watching the man’s reaction carefully. Seonghwa blushed, glancing back at Wooyoung multiple times, probably trying to figure out if Wooyoung was telling the truth.

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat again. “Yeah, I know of him.”

“Ah, he’d be happy to hear about that,” San laughed. “We probably shouldn’t tell you this… he’d actually murder us if he ever found out, but he’s had like… the biggest crush on you for the past year, it’s a little sad actually.”

Seonghwa nearly tripped over his own feet in his surprise at this information. Wooyoung stopped himself from smiling. Hongjoong really had it easy this time around. If only Wooyoung’s marks were this easy.

“Really?”

It was almost cute how utterly disbelieving the man sounded at this information. But then it just made Wooyoung really sad. Seonghwa probably could’ve been a decent person if he hadn’t been adopted by literally the worst family in the world at the moment. Poor guy. Maybe if this went well, ATEEZ could put in a good word and lighten his sentence when they took the organization down. He clearly wasn’t as much of a psychopath as the rest of his family.

“Oh for sure,” Wooyoung agreed. “He’s going to be sooo jealous when we tell him we got to talk to you before him.”

Seonghwa didn’t say anything, probably debating if he actually should. Wooyoung remembered what Ghost had told them about the man. He hadn’t told anyone in his family of his sexuality. He was probably hesitant to respond to such a comment in case the two of them would leak the information everywhere.

Wooyoung brought his voice down, trying to sound as serious as possible:

“Don’t worry, by the way,” he started. “Your secret’s safe with us.”

Seonghwa turned to look at them then, clearly a little shocked to hear that. Wooyoung grabbed San’s hand, interlacing their fingers to be a bit sincerer as he continued:

“Guy’s like us have to look out for each other, right?”

Seonghwa looked at the two of them, his eyes dropping briefly to their newly intertwined hands. He smiled then, one that was a little sad but also very happy.

“Thank you,” he said. He cleared his throat, then, gesturing to a door conveniently labeled “broadcast main”. “This is… This is your stop.”

“Oh thanks a ton,” Wooyoung smiled brightly at him.

“We really appreciate it,” San agreed.

“Just… don’t tell anyone,” Seonghwa said, giving a short laugh.

“Our lips are sealed.”

“Tell anyone what?”

Seonghwa laughed then. So he was capable of that kind of emotion, too. Seonghwa genuinely seemed like a nice guy, Wooyoung hoped he was wrong. It’d be easier for everyone that way.

He started to leave then, as San quickly slipped inside the room to carry out Yeosang’s bidding. But Wooyoung wanted to do one more thing before he left. Perhaps running into Park Seonghwa unexpectantly had actually been a rather favorable accident. Wooyoung really _was_ good at his job, he thought proudly.

“Hey, if you’re at all interested in, you know, Hongjoong or whatever. He’d literally jump at the opportunity so don’t feel… I don’t know, like stuck? If you want it, go for it. You’re really a pretty nice guy.”

Seonghwa averted his eyes at that comment, the tips of his ears turning pink at the compliment.

“Alright… Thanks…”

“Wooyoung,” he filled in. “And my boyfriend’s San.”

He pretended like saying that out loud didn’t make him immensely happy on the inside, even if it wasn’t even true.

“Nice to meet you two.”

“Yeah same here, hopefully, we’ll see you around.”

Seonghwa nodded, looking very pleased with the conversation they had just had. This really was the part of his job that he hated. Having to lie to morally evil and generally awful people wasn’t hard, Wooyoung could do that in his sleep. But lying to someone so clearly desperate for attention, someone who probably had no one to go to at all, really was awful. He joked about how easy Hongjoong had it with this one, but in reality, morally this would be the hardest.

Not a minute after Seonghwa had disappeared down another hallway, San quickly slipped back out of the room with the now empty USB drive brandished triumphantly.

“All done?” Wooyoung asked.

“Yes sir,” San agreed.

“Let’s get out of here then.”

Regardless of whether or not lying to someone so seemingly innocent in all this was wrong, they could successfully file this mission under the completed tag. Agony and the rest of the country had a big surprise coming their way and Wooyoung couldn’t wait to see the reactions.

~Mingi~

Mingi could hardly keep the smile off his face. Even as he did one of his least favorite chores of all time: washing dishes. He hadn’t been able to stop since last night when they’d heard the news. Well, except for the hour this morning when he went to make sure his father was doing alright where he couldn’t stop crying tears of absolute joy. He’d never be caught dead crying in front of anyone, not even Yunho. All of them had their own problems, they didn’t need his on top of it all. He had to be happy for all of them, especially Yunho and his little brother, Gunho. That had been rather difficult as of late; money had been tighter than ever before and there had been no relief in sight. But then Ghost had come along with his seemingly infinite amount of surprises and mysteries and completely obliterated their earlier struggles in just five seconds. Now, granted he also brought with him what would probably end up being their hardest and most risky job to date, but Mingi had high hopes. He’d always been hopelessly optimistic about life; well, about everything except for when it came to himself.

But the long journey ahead of them didn’t matter right now. He pushed all thoughts of Agony and his job out of his mind. He wasn’t Twilight the interrogator tonight. Tonight, he was Yunho’s partner and Gunho’s loving hyung. He wasn’t going to let the looming threat of an early death ruin tonight. Tonight was a happy occasion, something they hadn’t been able to celebrate properly in years due to their financial issues. Mingi’s smile came back in full force just thinking about how Gunho’s face had instantly lit up upon seeing the decorations and presents he and Yunho had set up for him. It had truly made his year.

“I love it when you smile like that,” Yunho’s voice took him out of his thoughts. His boyfriend wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his chin lovingly on his shoulder after pressing a sweet kiss to the back of his neck. Mingi turned the sink off, having just finished cleaning the dishes from their dinner. Mingi had made Gunho’s favorite for the occasion: Mac ‘n Cheese. He leaned into his boyfriend’s warm, sturdy body. Mingi hadn’t met a lot of people who were taller than him and in moments like these, he really appreciated Yunho’s height. He fell that much harder every time.

“My smile makes my eyes disappear,” Mingi said; how small his eyes were had always been a bit of a sore subject for him.

“But that’s the best part,” Yunho laughed, kissing Mingi’s cheek. “They don’t disappear, they smile with you. Turning into these beautiful crescents that sparkle and make my heart just melt.”

Mingi felt the tips of his ears heat up. Yunho never failed to amaze him; his eloquent words always charming him right out of all his insecurities. What in the world had he done to deserve this man? He must’ve been a fucking saint in his previous life because he’d done nothing remarkable in this one.

“I don’t deserve you,” Mingi said with a giggle, playing the statement off as a joke even though he absolutely meant it.

“Of course you do, don’t say that,” Yunho whispered, leaving kisses along the length of Mingi’s neck. Mingi’s eyes fluttered shut, savoring the feeling. “I love you, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Mingi blushed again, turning his head as much as he could to face his boyfriend. Yunho met his gaze with a smile that made his heart flutter every time, a smile that he was always the sole recipient of.

“I love you too,” Mingi told him and he meant it with every fiber of his being. Yunho leaned in and Mingi’s eyes automatically closed, so familiar with the action that it was basically second nature at this point. Their lips met sweetly in the middle and Mingi felt like a teenager in high school all over again when Yunho had first kissed him, the first person to ever kiss him, behind a staircase when they should’ve been in class. Mingi kissed him back slowly, loving this absolutely amazing moment. Both of them hadn’t been so stress-free in a very long time.

“Can you help me with the cake?” Yunho asked once they pulled apart. Mingi, still a bit breathless from that sweet kiss, nodded his agreement. Yunho let go of him and left to get the cake out of the refrigerator. Mingi dried off his hands quickly before digging through a drawer to find where he had hidden the birthday candles he had bought earlier.

He and Yunho quickly decorated the cake, placing eight colorful candles on the anime-themed pastry Yunho had ordered for his younger brother. They made quick work of lighting the candles, Mingi having burned himself only once in the process. Then, ever so carefully, Yunho carried the dessert out into their small dining/living room combo. Upon seeing his older brother enter the room, the newly turned eight-year-old, who had previously been completely engrossed in the shiny new toys that he’d received, shot up, his eyes wide in surprise. Mingi’s smile instantly came back to his face at seeing how happy the boy was. Mingi would do anything for this child, he loved him so goddamn much. He’d known the boy for the past seven years, practically Gunho’s entire life. Ever since Yunho’s parents were thrown in prison for a murder they didn’t have anything to do with five years ago—they’d been framed after refusing to give in to Agony’s blackmail demands—Mingi had done everything in his power to help Yunho in whatever way he could. By this point, Mingi and Yunho were basically the only parental figures he knew, having been much too young when the incident occurred to remember much, if anything at all, about his actual parents.

Their seven million credit payday couldn’t possibly have come at a better time. In the past, they hadn’t been able to do much for the child’s birthday or any other holiday. They’d try to save for it, they really would. Just enough for a small cake or a gift but something would always come up and ruin their plans. One year, the refrigerator broke and they needed to repair it; another, Yunho had broken his arm on the job and they needed to pay for medical expenses. It was always something. But this year… this year the exact opposite had happened, and they spared no expense. Mingi hadn’t seen the child so utterly happy in a very long time.

Gunho came up to the table, looking at the cake Yunho had set down with awe written clearly across his face. He then looked up at Mingi and Yunho, his mouth hanging open slightly.

“Is that for me?” He asked, clearly not knowing what to do with himself.

“Of course it is, silly,” Yunho laughed, ruffling his brother’s hair affectionately. “It’s your birthday, after all.”

“But…” The kid struggled to get his words out. “But didn’t all this cost a lot already?”

Mingi marveled at the maturity the young child possessed but it also made him rather sad. The poor boy had had to grow up entirely too fast.

“Don’t worry about that,” Mingi told him. “Your hyungs got paid recently so we figured we’d give you a birthday to make up for all the ones we couldn’t celebrate.”

Calling fourteen million credits between the two of them “getting paid” was a bit of an understatement but Gunho didn’t know what his makeshift parents did for a living. Coming up with a reasonable excuse as to where millions of credits came from would definitely be a hard one. Especially since Gunho was just as sharp as everyone else in his family.

“Really?” He asked innocently.

“You deserve it for being such a good younger brother,” Mingi smiled down at him. In an instant, Gunho latched himself onto Mingi, hugging him tightly around the waist. Mingi hugged him back, his bright smile permanently stuck on his face at this point. He looked over to Yunho who was watching the scene unfold with a quiet kind of smile. Mingi grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the two of them and forcing him to join in on the hug.

“You guys are the best hyungs in the whole world,” Gunho told them as he pulled away, wiping at his eyes.

“Aww don’t cry,” Yunho cooed, kneeling down to wipe at the child’s eyes. “Come on, let’s cut this thing, alright?”

The child nodded, moving to sit at their small kitchen table in front of where Yunho had placed the cake.

“Don’t forget to make a wish,” Mingi reminded him; Gunho nodded, closing his eyes while he thought about his wish. He blew out all eight of his multi-colored candles. They divvied up the cake after that; Gunho insisted on Mingi and Yunho getting large slices too.

“He’s happy,” Yunho smiled, leaning against Mingi as they stood in the doorframe from the living room to the dining room. Mingi took a bite of the sweet chocolate cake as he nodded in agreement.

“All because of you,” Mingi told him, kissing his temple.

“Nah, the cake was your idea,” Yunho laughed.

“But you bought all the presents.”

“Let’s just call it a team effort, then,” Yunho decided.

Mingi was just about to continue their playful argument when a strange series of high tones and static cut through the living room. They both turned around, finding the source of the disturbance to be their TV that had been left on what had been the channel nine news. Mingi and Yunho shared a knowing look. They had had their doubts about San and Wooyoung’s ability to infiltrate the broadcast station; everyone did to be fair. But it looked like they’d managed to pull it off despite all the doubt.

The TV was overcome with an error screen, the seven-colored bars occasionally breaking to static as Yeosang worked his magic from across town.

“What’s wrong with the TV?” Gunho asked around a piece of cake. Mingi really hated lying to the kid about their secret second life but they really couldn’t share too many details about it all. They were already risking enough as it was, they didn’t want Gunho to _ever_ get caught up in this mess.

“I don’t know,” Mingi said.

“Must be some sort of broadcast error,” Yunho explained further. Just as he finished his sentence, the screen went black and what sounded like waves hitting a beach began to sound through the speakers. Mingi thought he even heard a few seagulls cawing in the distance. It’d been a while since anyone had heard this kind of calling card, and this was definitely the biggest stage it had ever been played on. Not since the organization consisted solely of Hongjoong and Yeosang had they used this tactic and that was about five years ago by this point. The three of them filed into the living room, watching their TV with curious anticipation. Mingi felt a little giddy; he couldn’t wait to see what Yeosang had pulled together after the few short clips he had taken last night of them in uniform.

“So they managed to pull it off,” Yunho mumbled to Mingi as the black screen gave way slowly to footage from the Governor’s campaign twelve years ago. A voice, heavily modulated to disguise its owner in the way Mingi had grown to recognize as Hongjoong’s, narrated over the broadcast, speaking of all the injustice Agony had caused despite what everyone reports.

“Yeah, I wonder how they ended up doing it,” Mingi agreed.

“I almost don’t want to know,” Yunho laughed. Mingi joined in. They fell silent then, watching as the broadcast changed once again to images of the team: close-ups of their masked faces—including Ghost, though no one would know it was him—that Yeosang had filmed last night.

“For too long the great people of this world have suffered under their ruthless tyranny while the higher-ups we trusted to help us ignored our crying pleas for help,” Hongjoong’s pre-recorded voice continued on. “But no longer. We will no longer stand for these injustices. We are at the starting point of this long journey.”

Despite being a member of the team himself, Mingi even found himself feeling empowered by this speech, by the images of their team looking wholly professional and utterly intimidating.

“Agony can try to put us down, put the hearts of the people down, but we will never stop. Money, happiness, love, security; it doesn’t matter what you dream for.”

The shot faded again, ending on Jongho and resuming on a wide shot of the entire team in their warehouse hideout. Their flag, black striped and dark red with their name spelled across it, artificially blew in a fake wind behind them.

“So let me ask you: Will you join us?”

The TV cut to another error screen before finally channel nine came back on to a flustered-looking host who immediately started apologizing profusely for the interruption. But the damage had already been done. ATEEZ had officially begun their war on Agony and no matter how hopeless that war looked right now, Mingi couldn’t help but feel like they could accomplish anything with that empowering broadcast. He hoped others felt the same way.

~Hongjoong~

Hongjoong sat in his usual spot for his Friday chemistry lab course. He felt unreasonably anxious about what he was going to do in approximately seven minutes. He’d arrived earlier than he normally would have—normally he’d be exactly on time or five minutes late—to switch around lab partner assignments. Every day before class, the lab TAs would assign two people to a lab bench to carry out that day’s procedure. Now usually, due to overworked graduate students almost always acting as their TAs, they were assigned the same partners every class period. So all Hongjoong had to do was change around the chart that was kept on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. He couldn’t just change around his and Seonghwa’s partners, though, that’d look entirely too suspicious, especially after the stunt Wooyoung and San had pulled yesterday when they had run into Seonghwa at the station. So, he had reorganized the entire class. He just hoped he hadn’t left anyone off…

He watched students slowly start to file in as it got closer and closer to two o’clock. They all looked confusedly at the chart before finding their new seats for the day and probably the rest of the year because Hongjoong saw no need to ever reorganize it again after today. When Hongjoong caught sight of platinum blonde hair walking through the door, he immediately made himself look busy. Digging through his backpack to pull out his supplies, he watched his target walk to the front board to look for his new partner. Hongjoong’s nerves spiked once more when the tall, handsome blonde started walking his way. He took a few deep breaths. He could do this, no problem.

“Umm… excuse me?” A quiet voice asked him. He stopped digging through his mess of a backpack, pretending to have just noticed Park Seonghwa’s presence.

“Hey,” Hongjoong responded, putting on his most charming smile. Seonghwa averted his eyes for a second before continuing.

“I think we’re partners for today,” he said.

“Oh really?” Hongjoong asked, looking towards the board for added effect.

“If—If you don’t want to, I understand. I can—”

Hongjoong immediately cut him off.

“No, no it’s fine.” He then added: “I want to.”

Seonghwa’s eyes went wide for a split second before he looked away and started turning red again. So Wooyoung had been right. Seonghwa did seem to be into him; he felt a little flattered if he were being honest. Hongjoong didn’t have a lot of experience in dating and by that, he meant he had no experience at all. He knew he was gay, but that was about it. So, to have someone like Seonghwa—though he was the enemy—he was undeniably handsome and Hongjoong had always had a thing for tall guys. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard after all… Besides, the man was devastatingly cute with how shy he was being.

“Kim Hongjoong,” he introduced.

“I—” Seonghwa cleared his throat. “I know… I’m—”

“Park Seonghwa,” Hongjoong said with another smile. “I know.”

Seonghwa smiled shyly at that; Hongjoong nearly melted.

He took back what he said earlier. This was going to be challenging. Not with getting close to Seonghwa; that was turning out to be an easy task. No, the challenge would be stopping himself from getting too attached. He did have a rather nasty habit of doing that…

His assignment just kept getting worse and worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I really appreciate all of you who took the time to comment and kudo on the first chapter! Seeing those emails every morning really keeps me going! I appreciate you all immensely! 
> 
> All comments are greatly appreciated! I'd love to hear from you. 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter! ATEEZ has consumed my life anyway. @AAvery151  
> Follow my wonderful beta on Twitter if you'd like! He'd greatly appreciate it too! @TrashKing52


	3. Chapter 3

~Hongjoong~

Hongjoong carried two steaming mugs of coffee through the relatively busy café, platinum blonde hair acting as his beacon to the table he and Seonghwa had claimed for themselves.

His plan to ask Seonghwa to work with him outside of their shared lab course during Friday’s period had gone even better than he had hoped. For one, Seonghwa had been the one to invite him out not only to work on their lab write up for class but also just straight up on a date. Hongjoong had reasonably been surprised at the end of the lab when after he suggested they meet up sometime over the weekend, Seonghwa had decided to take it one step further and call it an actual date instead. It was especially surprising considering Seonghwa had spent the entire class period shakily flustered and in various stages of embarrassment. For him to suddenly and very boldly just ask him out on a study date was so out of character for him, it had taken Hongjoong a solid thirty seconds to even understand what was happening. Seonghwa had immediately begun sputtering out an apology for his forwardness, but Hongjoong had quickly cut him off and accepted his invitation. The duality in that single conversation had taken Hongjoong completely off guard; he wondered what other strange personality quirks this man had.

They had worked extremely well together throughout the entirety of Friday’s lab procedure. Seonghwa was clearly incredibly intelligent, easily filling in whatever Hongjoong was unsure about, which was quite a lot if he were being honest. Chemistry was _not_ his forte, so it was a good thing Seonghwa was apparently a genius. Their conversation throughout class had started off rather stilted, mainly because Seonghwa seemed to go through an existential crisis whenever Hongjoong so much as looked at him. Thankfully, he’d gotten more comfortable around him by the end of the three-hour period. He even caught him trying to make an absolutely awful joke—a terrible chemistry pun—at one point too. Hongjoong had still laughed, regardless, which had earned him a smile. Seonghwa had suggested they meet at the coffee shop Hongjoong was carefully navigating now to both finish their report and get to know each other better. Hongjoong had quickly agreed, hardly having to fake his enthusiasm—he was very interested in understanding this strange man better, regardless of the fact that he was technically their enemy—and agreed to meet him this rather dreary Saturday afternoon.

Carefully, he placed the hot coffee mugs down on the table in front of their respective seats. Seonghwa smiled shyly in thanks up at him, bringing his sweater-pawed hands up to gently cup the warm mug. It was rather chilly outside and had been thunder storming all day once again. Though, Hongjoong couldn’t complain. The rain had never really bothered him all that much and his date looked positively adorable in his oversized, black turtleneck sweater.

_Focus._ Right. He had a job to do.

“It’s really busy in here today,” Hongjoong said as he sat down across from Seonghwa. He began pulling out the various materials he would need to finish their assignment from his backpack as he spoke.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Seonghwa immediately began. “I’m sure we could find somewhere less crowded.”

Hongjoong waved him off.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Hongjoong said with a smile. “I like it here. I always get coffee from here, so I don’t mind. But usually, I get it to go.”

Seonghwa nodded before saying:

“I know.” He cleared his throat. “You had a cup on Friday.”

“How sweet,” Hongjoong cooed. “Already paying that close attention to me, you’re off to a good start.”

The other man gave another shy smile, shrinking back to hide a little further inside his turtleneck. Hongjoong’s stomach did a backflip. Could this man actually be apart of such an evil and malicious organization? Not only that, could he actually have been raised by the Governor himself? Sure, he had been adopted in a desperate PR stunt about twelve years ago, but he’d been nine at the time. Surely, it wouldn’t have been hard to turn a small, impressionable boy into a full-blown psychopath that felt no emotion and only followed orders. Hell, Agony had tried to do the same to Hongjoong at that age too before his parents had stepped in and paid the ultimate price for it. But Seonghwa hadn’t had anyone like that, hadn’t had anyone to sacrifice their lives so that he might grow up normally. He wondered if Seonghwa had actually managed to hold on to his humanity through years of ruthless conditioning or if he was just acting. If that were the case, he had to be an extremely good actor to fool even Wooyoung, the best people-reader he had ever met.

Hongjoong took a sip of his coffee, savoring the sweet, white chocolate flavor. He watched Seonghwa do the same, taking a very tentative sip of his beverage as if he had never actually tried it before. His face instantly contorted into an expression of disgust, barely managing to swallow the small amount he had sipped. Hongjoong giggled.

“Not a fan?” He asked. Seonghwa put the cup down, wrinkling his nose distastefully.

“I guess not,” he admitted. “It’s so bitter…”

“You did get black coffee,” Hongjoong told him. Seonghwa cocked his head in curiosity; Hongjoong was reminded of a bird. “A lot of people think plain coffee is disgusting.”

“Oh,” Seonghwa looked down at his cup of deep brown liquid.

“Here, you can try some of mine if you’d like,” Hongjoong offered. Seonghwa reached out hesitantly.

“Are you sure?” He asked as Hongjoong handed off his mug.

“Wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t willing to share,” he smiled, watching Seonghwa look down at the light tan latte now in front of him that Hongjoong had ordered. “It’s white chocolate and milk, a lot sweeter than just normal coffee.”

Seonghwa took another tentative sip but this time, his eyes lit up in excitement upon tasting the drink.

“That’s the same thing?” He asked in amazement.

“Well almost,” Hongjoong giggled. When Seonghwa tried to hand the mug back over, Hongjoong caught his hand, pushing the cup gently back towards him and trying his hardest to ignore how much larger Seonghwa’s hands were than his own. “You can have the rest if you like it better.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind just plain coffee,” Hongjoong brushed off. Usually, that was all he could afford to fuel his caffeine addiction anyway. He had a nasty habit of just outright forgetting to sleep on most days and had a rather expensive coping mechanism to keep him going. He’d gotten used to the bitter taste of straight, black coffee out of nothing more than necessity. As long as it helped him stay awake and productive he didn’t care about the taste. But today, with his recent increase in cash flow, he had decided to splurge just a bit. He much preferred the syrupy sweet concoctions that this café made than just plain coffee, but he wasn’t going to complain. He quite liked Seonghwa’s sweet smile a bit more, he decided.

He grabbed Seonghwa’s original cup, taking a long sip without any struggle to prove his point. Seonghwa wrinkled his nose again, probably remembering what it had tasted like.

“So you like sweet things?” Hongjoong asked.

Seonghwa thought about the question for a moment, his face growing increasingly guilty before he gave in and nodded slowly.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Hongjoong laughed at his reaction.

“People just don’t expect it from a guy like me.”

“A lot of people must not take the time to get to know you,” Hongjoong said, playing dumb. He already knew that to be very true. “A sweet guy liking sweet things only makes sense.”

Seonghwa cleared his throat, shifting in his seat at the compliment.

“You’re—” He cut himself off before trying again. “You’re… You’re nice, too. Very cute…”

That was the second time this week someone had referred to him as cute. He tried to hold back an eye roll. He understood. He was a small guy. Though, he was less pissed by Seonghwa calling him cute than Ghost. Seonghwa was too adorably innocent to stay angry at; Ghost was a cocky asshole.

Seonghwa must’ve sensed his displeasure with that comment because he very clearly began to panic.

“I mean… I only meant—” He cleared his throat again. “I like guys that are smaller than me, it’s nice because I can…”

He mimed wrapping his arms around an imaginary person. Hongjoong watched the other man’s panic with a stunned amusement. Holy shit, this guy was a mess. Perhaps that’s why he was hardly given any assignments within his organization despite being such a high rank and clearly intelligent. His shy, kind of constantly panicked personality really didn’t match up with what one would expect from someone of his position. Hongjoong could hardly picture this man harming a fly, let alone another human being. This assignment was really starting to bother him from a moral standpoint. Seonghwa seemed to genuinely and desperately want an actual relationship out of this meeting. A bad taste was left in Hongjoong’s mouth at the thought. He really hoped Seonghwa would never come to find out Hongjoong was playing him for information, or that if he did, he would understand why Hongjoong had to do it.

“It’s alright,” Hongjoong cut off his nervous ramblings. “You’re in luck though, because I like tall guys for the same reason.”

Seonghwa sighed, clearly relieved as he gave him another boxy smile.

“So,” Hongjoong started, changing the subject when silence fell between the two of them. “Why did you ask me out to a coffee shop if you hadn’t tried coffee before?”

“Oh well… We needed a place to work that had Wi-Fi,” he started. He then tagged on quietly. “And I knew you liked this place.”

“Oh?” Hongjoong asked.

“I see you in here sometimes.”

Hongjoong laughed.

“Been watching me, have you?” He teased.

Seonghwa practically choked on the sip of coffee he had been taking at Hongjoong’s question.

“Ah don’t worry,” he teased again. “I’ve noticed you around, too.”

Hongjoong added a wink for good measure before taking a sip of his own coffee. Seonghwa gulped visibly, eyes wide at that admittance.

They started their actual lab assignment soon after that. Hongjoong found every excuse he could to flirt with the other man and Seonghwa would react with a different flustered response every time. He really couldn’t tell if he was a natural at flirting or if Seonghwa was just super easily embarrassed. Maybe a bit of both, he decided; but to be fair, Hongjoong really didn’t have enough experience to really compare any of this to, anyway.

Like the last time, they worked really well together. Though, Seonghwa did most of the heavy lifting since Hongjoong really didn’t know chemistry. If the other man cared at all, he didn’t let it show. He was very patient, explaining everything Hongjoong had questions about in a very easy to understand way. Working with Seonghwa was so much better than his previous lab partner. Previously, the two of them would sit for hours in confused silence, barely pulling a passing grade on every assignment. This time around, however, Hongjoong felt a lot more confident. Not that he cared all that much about his chemistry grade; he had a lot bigger things to worry about at this moment anyway.

They finished the lab faster than Hongjoong had ever. Before they left, Hongjoong showed Seonghwa how to order the white chocolate latte he had loved so much in case he ever wanted it in the future and then they were on their way, walking side by side down the sidewalk in the same general direction they both lived. When they came up to where they’d have to go their separate ways, they both stopped, turning to face one another.

“So this was nice,” Hongjoong said, the first to speak as usual. “Well, minus all the chemistry.”

“To be clear, you mean the homework, right?” Seonghwa started. “Because I thought we have some pretty good chemistry…”

Hongjoong snorted. That was so awful, it gave him second-hand embarrassment. It was also completely adorable, he decided.

“Yes, I mean the homework,” Hongjoong rolled his eyes, bumping their shoulders together. “That was awful by the way.”

Seonghwa giggled.

“The lab wasn’t so bad,” he said in response.

“Only because I had you.”

Seonghwa blushed, biting his lip. Hongjoong’s eyes lingered longer than they should have.

“Would you… Would you want to do this again?” Seonghwa asked. “You know, but without a lab to do.”

Hongjoong nodded quickly.

“Yeah that would be fantastic,” he said. He took his phone out of his pocket quickly. “Let me give you my number.”

“Here, I can just give you mine,” Seonghwa said, carefully grabbing Hongjoong’s phone from his hand. Their fingers brushed again and Hongjoong couldn’t stop himself from admiring his hands this time around. He wondered how they would feel intertwined with his own or cupping his cheek gently as… he stopped himself from going any further with that train of thought.

Seonghwa quickly put in his number and sent himself a text to have Hongjoong’s cell number in return. _Mission complete,_ Hongjoong thought to himself. Though, he’d have to be careful. He had Seonghwa’s number now, but Seonghwa also had his, too. It went both ways.

“So you’ll call me then?” Hongjoong asked.

Seonghwa nodded, handing the phone back over. A silence fell over them then; Seonghwa looked like he wanted to say more but was very clearly conflicted. Hongjoong really didn’t know what to expect when Seonghwa took a hesitant step towards him. Another few seconds of silence felt like years as Hongjoong waited for whatever it was Seonghwa was trying to work up the courage to say or do.

But nothing came. Instead, he cleared his throat, taking a much larger step backward before saying:

“So I’ll see you around?”

Hongjoong smiled.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Yeah for sure.”

Seonghwa returned his smile, before turning and beginning his walk home.

“Seonghwa,” he called out, however, deciding that if Seonghwa wasn’t going to do anything, then he would. The taller man stopped, turning back around to look at Hongjoong. Hongjoong walked over to him and, going on his tip-toes, placed a feather-light kiss on the man’s cheek. Seonghwa’s eyes went wide, his cheeks dusting pink. When Hongjoong pulled away, Seonghwa slowly brought a hand up to his cheek, fingers touching where Hongjoong’s lips had been moments before.

“Thanks for asking me out,” Hongjoong told him. “I had a lot of fun, even with all the gross homework.”

A smile slowly broke out across Seonghwa’s face, blindingly stunning and the biggest one Hongjoong had received from the man so far. He felt a strange mixture of feelings stir in his stomach.

“Goodbye, then,” Hongjoong said awkwardly, turning from the stunning man smiling at him all too sweetly. So much for not getting too attached.

He walked away from Seonghwa, pretending like he couldn’t feel eyes watching him until he turned the corner and was gone.

~Yeosang~

“For fuck’s sake,” Yeosang swore, shaking out his arm as a wholly unpleasant, and frankly painful, electric shock went up his arm and jolted his entire body. This was the most annoying part of the surgery he had gotten done. Whenever he updated his systems—which he didn’t do very often due to their price tag—this always happened. The update would install no problem, but then it came down to recalibrating his nervous system so that everything worked seamlessly with no annoying delays. Unfortunately, the process usually involved inconvenient side effects which included a series of annoying twitches he couldn’t control and painful shocks in various places around his body.

He checked the small calibrating device in his pocket, sighing when he saw that he was only halfway done with the process. He clipped it onto his belt with an eye roll, adjusting the two wires he had plugged into the implants in his neck. How annoying. He was glad he had decided to download an upgraded software for his eyes last night before he went to bed. He didn’t think he could handle his eyes going in and out of focus uncontrollably for a few hours on top of the electric shocks and twitches going through his body. Sometimes he really hated how much he relied on technology. He needed it to do everything, even something as basic as seeing the world around him and moving from one spot to another, to live a normal life.

“Ow! Oh my god!” Yeosang exclaimed as another shock went up his spine this time. He dropped the wire cutters he’d been holding, sitting back to lean against the wall as he waited for the pain to subside. He was _so_ going to send a strongly worded email to his distributor. This was ridiculous. He could hardly get any work done.

He reminded himself of how nice it was going to be to finally have an upgraded operating system for not only his central nervous system but his peripheral as well after all this was over. It’d been forever since he’d been able to afford an update of this magnitude and it was starting to show. His reflexes had been slower, his reactions a bit delayed, and his movements occasionally choppy and very ungraceful. He couldn’t wait, honestly. He’d been suffering through all those drawbacks for too long. While cybernetic technology and biometric implants had been relatively mainstream for years by this point, they were still very expensive to get a hold of and cost even more to keep up. Yeosang had used the last of his inheritance money from his parents to pay for the surgery after the break-in at their last hideout and he hadn’t been able to buy a system upgrade of this magnitude since. That had been two years ago. He was ready for an update. His eyes were already loads better than before. He could even increase the magnification and highlight certain components of the real world all with a simple thought. He was having a field day with them as he worked on his security systems; if only his biometric nervous system could calibrate faster…

He sighed again, taking a shaky breath in once the pain had passed. Picking back up his wire cutters, he got back to work repairing and reworking his security system in the main room of the warehouse. No one was here right now; though, he suspected Jongho would show up eventually. He always did. Like clockwork after his classes, the younger man would come to the hideout and hover around Yeosang until Hongjoong told him to do otherwise.

A notification popped up within his field of vision—another helpful new feature his eyes had—it notified him of new movement of the premises. Speak of the devil… Yeosang waited for the inevitable.

He heard footsteps approaching him.

“Afternoon, Jongho-yah,” Yeosang said once the footsteps halted and a shadow cast over him.

“Hey,” he greeted in return. Yeosang looked up at him, a little surprised to see the man fully dressed in his uniform already. Though, he guessed it made sense; Ghost could pop in at any moment now. Better to be prepared than to be caught unaware, he supposed.

“Could you not stand there?” Yeosang asked. “You’re blocking my light.”

Technically, his eyes could now adjust the brightness at which he saw things; even going as far as to see clearly in complete darkness according to the patch notes, but he hadn’t quite figured out how to do that on command just yet.

“Oh! Sorry,” Jongho said, all but throwing himself down on the ground to quickly get out of the way. He maneuvered to sit next to Yeosang instead. Yeosang was used to Jongho’s hovering at this point. Just occasionally, like the other night, everything became a bit too much and Yeosang simply could not tolerate the man’s sometimes overbearing hovering. But today, he was in a much better mood. Well, except for the biometric calibration but his suffering on that end would be worth it when it was all said and done. Jongho was a rather useful person to have around. Sure, he was also rather annoying. Like the other night when San and Wooyoung had bought entirely too much pizza and Jongho had manhandled him into eating with them. But for the most part, he was a nice presence. When it was just him and the younger man, he was rather comforting; quiet and attentive. It also helped that he was a good bit stronger than Yeosang so whenever there was heavy lifting that needed to be done, it was handy having Jongho around. Besides, he couldn’t exactly tell the younger to just go away. Yeosang was the whole reason Jongho had joined ATEEZ in the first place.

“What’s on the agenda today?” Jongho asked.

“Nothing that you can help me with, unfortunately,” Yeosang said, rearranging the wiring on the inside of his customized turrets to increase their functionality.

“That’s alright,” Jongho laughed. “Not like I have anything else to do anyway.”

Yeosang gave a small laugh.

“If that’s how you want to spend your time,” he said. He never quite understood why Jongho would rather hang around him doing nothing most of the time as opposed to doing literally anything else. To each their own, he supposed.

“You’re fun to be around, hyung,” Jongho told him. Yeosang laughed again.

“If you say so.”

They sat in silence for half a minute, Yeosang continuing to work away at his machinery while Jongho watched what he was doing closely. If this was at all entertaining for him, Yeosang had no idea. He was racking his brain for something interesting to talk about, just so the younger had something to do when Jongho beat him to it.

“Oh hey, before I forget,” he said. “I got you something.”

Yeosang stopped what he was doing, pulling his head out of the device’s case he was working on. He looked over at Jongho, seeing that the man was holding out a box about a foot wide and tall towards him. It was wrapped in glossy red wrapping paper with a fancy black bow on top. To say he was confused would be an understatement.

“What’s this for?” He asked, reaching out tentatively for the box Jongho was holding out for him to take.

“Well… It was your birthday last week, remember?” Jongho started. “But we didn’t really get to celebrate it. Everyone kinda forgot on account of Hongjoong’s kidnapping that night…”

Yeosang doubted that the team had actually forgotten; they all knew the unfortunate circumstances surrounding that date, so they had probably just decided to stay silent out of respect. He wasn’t surprised that Jongho was unaware, however. He’d never told him why it was exactly that he had joined ATEEZ and no one else ever brought it up to avoid causing painful memories to resurface.

“You didn’t forget,” Yeosang reminded him. “You bought me a cupcake, stuck a candle in it and then literally force-fed it to me.”

Jongho laughed at the memory.

“Yeah but everyone else forgot so I figured I’d get you something a little more.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” Yeosang didn’t exactly like celebrating his birthday that much. His birthday also marked the anniversary of his parents’ murder twelve years ago, so he really didn’t mind that everyone had basically forgotten about it. Jongho couldn’t have known that, however, because Yeosang had never told him. He appreciated the gesture regardless.

Jongho shrugged.

“Yeah but I did,” he laughed. “Soo… Are you going to open it or…?”

Yeosang rolled his eyes.

“Alright, alright, fine,” he gave in.

He looked down at the neatly wrapped gift in his hands. He wondered if Jongho had wrapped it himself. The thought brought a smile to his face. Someone as strong as Jongho being capable of something so delicate was an interesting duality. Carefully, he undid the colorful paper, hesitant to destroy something so pretty. Jongho watched him with a careful eye, gauging his reaction when he pulled the paper all the way off.

Yeosang’s eyes went wide when he saw the contents of the box.

“W—Wha—How did you…? How—” Yeosang sputtered, barely getting any words out around his surprise. How in the world had he found something like this? Yeosang had been trying for years with no luck and yet… here it was. In his hands now, all thanks to Jongho. The man really was too much for him.

“Well, I know you’ve been looking for these for a while. And you know my mom owns a tech shop, right? So I saw she was getting a shipment of them and I just grabbed a box before they were sold, or she did inventory. I know she’ll notice a whole box of them missing eventually but she’ll probably just get to claim insurance on them anyway.”

“You did all that…? For me?”

“Yes for you,” he laughed. “Who else?”

Yeosang gently set the box down on the ground so not to damage the delicate technology. Then, without a second of hesitation, he threw himself at Jongho and latched onto him in a tight hug. He was over the fucking moon right now. He couldn’t believe it. He’d been looking everywhere he could for a set of mini-drones like the ones Jongho had just gifted him. Not only were they as small as a fly and practically undetectable to most security systems, but they were also equipped with omnidirectional microphones and high-definition cameras perfect for espionage and security. Usually, these devices were used exclusively by large corporations, the police, and other private security firms, and as such, the general populace couldn’t purchase these normally. Yeosang had scoured black markets and underground auctions for the things but had had absolutely no luck. Either the sites were taken down, they were sold out by the time he found them, or the bidding war got way too high for him to keep up. So to now have a hundred—a full set! —in his possession right now was a dream come true.

He hugged Jongho tightly, taking the man completely off guard at first but it only took him a second to return the gesture, strong arms wrapping just as tightly around his waist.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Yeosang shouted in his happiness.

“Of course,” Jongho laughed. “Happy birthday.”

He let go of Jongho then, bright smile seemingly stuck on his face for the time being. But that was put to rest quickly when another rather painful shock arched through the back of his neck.

“Shit,” he hissed, grabbing his neck in a fruitless attempt to alleviate the pain. What he could see of Jongho’s face contorted in worry.

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” He asked, reaching out as if to touch Yeosang but instead his hands only hovered between the two of them.

Yeosang let out a shaky breath when the electricity subsided.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Yeosang told him.

“That didn’t look fine…”

Yeosang gave a small smile, not that Jongho could actually see it around the face mask though.

“No, it’s alright,” Yeosang affirmed. “I’m just upgrading my cybernetics… it’s a little painful through the calibration process.”

“Is that what these are?” Jongho asked, carefully grabbing the two wires that were currently attached to his neck and running his fingers down them. Yeosang cleared his throat, adjusting the wires to hide them behind his back and out of Jongho’s sight.

“Yeah, it’s almost done,” Yeosang lied. Fifty-eight percent. Why did it have to move so slowly?

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Jongho asked, clearly still very worried.

“No, I should be fine. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

Jongho nodded.

“You have cybernetic implants?” A new, different and unfamiliar voice asked. Both Yeosang and Jongho jumped in surprise, immediately seeking out the source of the new noise. They both found it rather quickly. Ghost, their temporary new member, leaned against a railing near where Jongho and Yeosang sat on the grated floor, still dressed as if he were actually a member of the team. Ghost chuckled quietly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I don’t know if our leader told you,” Yeosang said, turning on his voice modulator before he spoke. “But if you’re going to hang around here, you’re going to have to have the tracking device in your earpiece turned on before entering so I know not to blow you to bits. The only reason it didn’t happen this time is because I have my security system turned off while I’m working.”

“Ah, my bad,” the man said, taking the earpiece out of his pocket, plugging it into his ear and turning it on. Yeosang held back an eye roll as the new notification flashed across his vision. Better late than never. “Won’t happen again. So… the implants?”

“Yeah, I have an artificial nervous system and spinal cord, as well as cyber-eyes,” Yeosang answered, busying himself with his turret once again. Talking about all the work he had done to his body always made him feel a little self-conscious. He especially didn’t like talking about it around Jongho. The younger man would always go extremely quiet—much like he was doing now—as he blamed himself for Yeosang’s complete dependence on technology now. Though, he really had no reason to do so. If Jongho hadn’t been there two years ago, Yeosang wouldn’t be here now. But the man would always say: “If I had just been there sooner”. To that, Yeosang always said: “Then we’d both be dead.”

Ghost whistled in awe at Yeosang’s admittance.

“What in the world happened to require those kinds of replacements?” Ghost asked.

Memories instantly flooded through Yeosang’s mind at the question. It’d been over two years now since their old hideout had been raided and destroyed by two agents of Agony. Yeosang had been in the basement of the condemned apartment building they used as their headquarters back then. He hadn’t had nearly enough security at the old place because none of them had thought it was necessary. They had all thought they were untraceable then; oh, how wrong they had been.

He had been alone that night, everyone else was out working a job. The power had suddenly cut out; that should’ve been his first clue that something wasn’t quite right. Instead, he’d thought nothing of it, getting up from his computers to go in search of the fuse box on the first floor of the building. It was supposed to storm really bad that night, Yeosang had been anticipating this if he were being honest. Except, as he entered the lobby of the building, he’d ran directly into a man dressed in all black. The man’s white animal mask—the standard uniform for agents of Agony—still haunted his dreams on occasion; though, he’d never admit it to anyone. He had been woefully underprepared for this kind of situation. He was their technician, not a field agent. He was never supposed to come face to face with an enemy agent. He had frozen in terror looking up at this man who wasn’t supposed to be there, wasn’t even supposed to know where “there” was.

Unfortunately, the infiltrator had not been terrified or confused at all. He immediately reacted upon finding Yeosang by grabbing a knife that had been hooked onto his belt and slicing cleanly across Yeosang’s face, taking out both his eyes with one flick of his wrist. Yeosang shivered just remembering how completely and utterly horrified he’d been. Scared out of his mind, in immense pain, and unable to see anything as he felt blood running down his face, Yeosang stumbled away from his attacker as fast as he could. But that was when the first agent’s partner had stepped in to finish the job. Two gunshots, both of them hitting their mark. One lodging itself in Yeosang’s left shoulder, the other connecting with his upper spine, right between his shoulder blades, rendering him immobile in an instant. The two Agony agents had left him for dead, then, right after setting the condemned apartment complex on fire. Leaving him to bleed out on the floor in the lobby of a burning building with all his friends across the city and unable to come help. He could hear all their shouts through their commlink, begging him to tell them that he was okay, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even move, no matter how hard he tried. He was in so much pain and it was so… cold despite the smoke that was starting to fill the room. He remembered thinking that he was going to die on that floor. Alone and afraid.

That’s when a stranger had miraculously found him and immediately called emergency services. Jongho would tell him later that he had heard gunshots and a scream on his way home from his mother’s shop. Being the recklessly selfless person that he was, Jongho had immediately rushed into a burning building to investigate and had found the horrible mess of blood and broken limbs that Yeosang had been. He had recognized Yeosang; they’d gone to the same high school.

He’d stayed with him through all of it, until the ambulance came, on the ride to the hospital as he pretended to be his brother, and even long after until Yeosang had woken up in a hospital room a week after the incident, unable to move or see anything. He’d gotten his corrective surgery a week after that, using the rest of the money his parents had left him to be able to live a normal life again. He still had scars, like the one across his face, spanning from the corner of his left eye across the bridge of his nose and into his hairline on his right side. But at least it was better than the life he would’ve lived without all the technological implants he had done.

Jongho had joined the team after the break-in; though, no one was really sure of his reasonings. Regardless, he was now an invaluable member of the team: stronger than all of them and incredibly tactical. They definitely couldn’t have pulled off countless jobs without the expertise he had brought to the table. Though more often than not, Jongho was hanging around the hideout, keeping Yeosang company versus actually running jobs with the team.

Remembering where he was, Yeosang cleared his throat and buried the painful memories to the depths of his mind where they belonged.

“At our old headquarters, a few agents of Agony infiltrated the place and attacked me,” Yeosang explained vaguely. “I got shot and they took my vision.”

Ghost nodded slowly in understanding.

“I can imagine cyber-eyes would be rather useful in your line of work,” Ghost started. “I’m assuming you make full use of their encryption programs.”

It took Yeosang a second to understand the question around his surprise. No one ever talked tech with him like that. Jongho tried, but Ghost… Ghost seemed to be on a higher level.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Yeosang agreed. “I recently downloaded a software update actually so now I can view all my data without my computer even being turned on.”

“How practical,” Ghost agreed. “I have no need for cyber-eyes like you do but I do wear computerized contact lenses when I’m working.”

“Really?!” Yeosang exclaimed. “Before my implants, I really wanted a pair, but they were too expensive. And you know, now, I don’t really need them.”

“They definitely aren’t cheap but so worth it if you do have the money. Though, I’d definitely say the functionality of your eyes is a million times better. For one thing, I need a remote to use all the contact’s abilities.”

Ghost held out his right hand, showing Yeosang the small controller that was built into his fingerless gloves.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t mind a remote control for these things,” Yeosang said, pointing to his eyes. “I can’t figure out how to mentally use a lot of their functions just yet.”

Ghost laughed.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, you’re smart enough.”

Yeosang smiled, nodding in agreement. He opened his mouth to question what all Ghost’s contacts were capable of when Jongho cleared his throat. Yeosang had almost forgotten he was here. He felt guilty in an instant, especially after Jongho had gone through the trouble of remembering his birthday.

“I’m going to go back downstairs. I think Utopia asked me to organize the weapons room today. You know, take inventory and all that,” Jongho said, standing up off the ground. Yeosang looked up at him, an apology on the tip of his tongue for ignoring him through that conversation.

“O-okay,” Yeosang said. “Do you want any help?”

Jongho shook his head, bending back down before he left.

“No, it shouldn’t take me that long. Besides, you’ve got all this stuff to figure out. Might as well make myself useful if you’ve got all this covered,” he told him. Then, Yeosang felt it. The reason Jongho bent over as he finished their conversation. Did he…? Did he just kiss… the top of his head?

That… was a new one.

He was used to friendly pats on his shoulder or his hair getting ruffled when he wasn’t wearing his hat like right now. But not a kiss… Did he really just…?

“Happy birthday, hyung,” he told him again before standing back up to his full height. He brushed past Ghost, not even looking in his direction as he left. Ghost watched him leave with a calculated eye; Yeosang was just stunned into silence.

Yeosang cleared his throat, unsure of what had actually just happened right there.

“I should get back to work,” he decided. Ghost nodded in understanding.

“That’s fine, I don’t think your boyfriend likes me very much, probably shouldn’t hang around without him here, anyway,” Ghost said. Yeosang short-circuited that much more.

“Oh, he’s not… He’s not my…” He began sputtering. Ghost held up a hand, stopping his confused ramblings.

“I don’t need to know the details,” the man said. “The statement still stands, he doesn’t like me very much.”

“He’s just…” Yeosang tried to come up with a logical response to deny what the man was saying. Nothing came to mind. Even he didn’t understand what that spectacle was about.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ghost decided. “I’ll leave you to it. I’ve gotta find one of your info-dealers anyway. There’s a tip they’d probably be interested in pursuing that I heard today.”

Then the man was walking away, going off in search of either Wooyoung or San and leaving Yeosang alone to mull over the strange series of events that had just played out before him.

~Wooyoung~

San collapsed on top of him with a groan, kissing his collarbone as they both came down from a wonderful post-orgasmic high. Wooyoung was unsure of how to actually proceed now, however. They had sex a lot, in a ton of different positions and levels of roughness. This time… had been a little different though. For one, they hadn’t been drunk off their asses. That’s how almost all their sexual escapades started. Though it wasn’t always necessary to be completely wasted, it certainly helped Wooyoung pretend like their meaningless hookups didn’t hurt.

But this time, San had come on to him about an hour ago, now, out of nowhere and unrelenting. Wooyoung, of course, had been extremely receptive to San’s advances as he always was, letting the older man do whatever he wanted to him or doing whatever he wanted him to do to him. It happened sometimes when they weren’t drunk but were instead just terribly horny. A quick fuck in a public bathroom or against a wall in Wooyoung’s apartment when they were too desperate to take the time to make it to the bedroom. But that wasn’t what had happened tonight either. Neither of their usual reasons had arisen throughout the night, but that wasn’t even the main cause for Wooyoung’s confusion.

After infiltrating the broadcast station, the two of them hadn’t been able to find a restaurant to eat at without a reservation or one that would let them in looking like dirty street-runners. Not to say that wasn’t exactly what they were but now they were rich, dirty street-runners who were willing to pay probably outrageous prices for food. They’d just ordered a bunch of pizza instead, invading Yeosang’s lair and forcing both him and Hongjoong to take a break from working and eat something for a change. Yeosang had refused at first, as he always did, but Jongho had physically picked him up and brought him to the table in response, effectively ending his protests in an instant. Wooyoung really liked having their youngest member around sometimes; no one else could manhandle Yeosang into submission when he was being difficult like Jongho could.

But San had surprised him today. Wooyoung had run out of semi-clean clothes the day before and had decided instead of doing laundry to go buy an entirely new wardrobe. Hey, he had the money for it now and technically newer, cleaner, and better clothes would make him look less like a male prostitute and more like a professional info-dealer, which would help him do his job better in the long run. It would definitely keep him safer on the streets he ran for one.

San had offered to go with him, even helped him decide on what clothes looked the best on him. Then, after they’d deposited all the expensive new clothes, San had told him to get dressed all fancy and he’d be back in thirty minutes. He explained nothing else before leaving Wooyoung alone in his apartment completely confused. He’d done what San had asked of him, however, waiting very impatiently for San to show back up as he had promised. Eventually, a knock had sounded on his door and Wooyoung had been taken aback by what stood in front of him. If he had been attracted to San when he’d hardly been trying with his appearance, having him stand in front of him dressed to the nine was utterly devastating. He’d been stunned right into silence until San snapped his fingers in front of his face, smirking down at him like he knew exactly what he was thinking. The asshole.

He’d taken Wooyoung out to the best sushi bar in the entire city, the kind where every piece cost upwards of a hundred credits and the two of them had gorged themselves on the delicious delicacies. San had paid for the whole thing and Wooyoung let himself pretend for the night that they had just gone on an actual date. It had felt way too close to an actual date to begin with, and neither of them had even been drunk to create that kind of atmosphere. But the downright magical night hadn’t ended there, either, to Wooyoung’s surprise.

San had kissed him once back at Wooyoung’s apartment, passionately and sweetly. Wooyoung let the older carry him into his messy bedroom before fucking him into his mattress. But… that wasn’t quite the right way to phrase it. Though it didn’t lack the usual passion that their sex always contained, it was different today… but Wooyoung couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was. Well, not until San had leaned down, whispering praises into his ear. Now that in and of itself was normal. San loved talking dirty in the midst of fucking Wooyoung hard because he knew it drove him crazy. But something… new had slipped into the mix.

“God, you’re amazing Wooyoung, I love you…”

That’s why Wooyoung didn’t know what to do in the aftermath this time around. San didn’t even react to the words he had said in the heat of the moment which led Wooyoung to believe that it had just been a part of his incoherent dirty talk. More like: “I love the way you make me feel” versus an actual confession of love. No, Wooyoung would never be so lucky as to have someone like San actually say those words to him and mean it like the way he had always dreamed.

San pecked his lips before rolling off of him, pulling Wooyoung out of his thoughts. He didn’t go very far, however, immediately latching onto Wooyoung. He rested his head on Wooyoung’s chest, an arm and a leg were thrown over his body. He sighed happily when Wooyoung returned his affectionate cuddling by wrapping an arm under him, hand resting on his slender waist and pulling him closer.

“Tonight was nice,” San said around a yawn.

“It was all your doing,” Wooyoung laughed.

“No, I know,” San gave a short laugh too. “But we don’t really hang out by ourselves a lot anymore.”

“What are you talking about? That’s all we ever do…”

San rolled his eyes.

“When we’re not working,” he amended.

“Alright, alright,” Wooyoung conceded. “Tonight _was_ nice.”

San hummed happily, nuzzling further into Wooyoung’s body. They didn’t say anything for another few minutes, simply enjoying each other’s presence. Another few moments of silence and Wooyoung was sure San had fallen asleep. It was cute, Wooyoung always thought, how fast San would fall asleep cuddled up against him. He felt a strange and totally unwelcome pang of anxiousness go through his stomach remembering the words San had whispered into his ear not ten minutes ago. He shook out his head with a sigh. No… he couldn’t read too far into that. He really couldn’t. It wasn’t good for his health to dwell too long on feelings that would probably never be reciprocated.

He reached around for his discarded jeans, trying his best not to wake San up as he did. Once he got a hold of them, he pulled out his phone. Unsurprisingly, Wooyoung found Yeosang had tried to call him multiple times within the last hour. He sent him a quick apology text, having to wait only minutes for his friend to message him back. Apparently, Ghost had caught wind of some sort of convoy delivering sensitive information in the coming days. Hongjoong wanted him and San to see what their usual sources had to say on the matter.

Wooyoung sighed deeply. Of course he knew this moment couldn’t last forever, but he hadn’t thought it would end so fast. He looked down at San’s sleeping form… He really didn’t want to wake him up. Maybe he could get this done quickly. Get in. Get out. Be back before San even realized he’d left at all. He liked that idea. Then, he could keep on pretending that San was his for the night and wouldn’t have to watch him flirt with all their usuals. Besides, it’s not like he was doing anything that required two people anyway and any trouble that he could potentially run into could easily be handled with a gun. He’d just take one with him this time around, hide it in the waistband of his jeans; easy peasy. He probably wouldn’t even need it anyway.

Ever so carefully, he detached San from his torso, going as slow as possible so not to wake San up and ruin his whole plan. He was successful in his attempts, freeing himself without San so much as stirring. He got dressed quickly and quietly. He didn’t put on any of his new clothes, though, resorting to some of his trashier garments. It was close to midnight now. The kinds of people that were walking the streets he was going to be visiting definitely did not match with his new style. He’d stick out like a sore thumb and in his line of work, blending in was everything. He was using his real face out there—that’s why his official title was “the face” of the group—best not to draw any more attention to himself if he could help it. Before he left, he smeared some thick black eyeliner on his eyes just to complete the look. No one would look twice at him where he was going. Well… they wouldn’t look twice because he looked suspicious anyway. He _was_ the face of the group for a reason after all. He winked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror before turning off the light and opening the door.

Still being as quiet as possible, he tip-toed out of his bathroom and started towards his living room. He stopped before exiting his bedroom however, looking back at San’s sleeping form. He walked back over, covering the older man with the blankets that had been kicked off earlier in the evening. Then, he pressed a light kiss to the man’s temple, careful not to apply too much pressure.

“I love you too,” he mumbled against his skin. He was too much of a coward to say it while the man was awake, might as well say it once out loud to get it out of his system.

He left the apartment quickly after that, walking down the cold rainy street by himself, neon signs for various stores lighting his way towards the red-light district where he and San got a good deal of their information. This would be the first time in a long time that he was going out to work by himself. Ever since Hongjoong had recruited San three years ago, the two of them had been inseparable. He felt strangely nostalgic walking such a familiar path in an unfamiliar way. It made him really appreciate having a partner these days but he really just wanted to get this over with and go home to his warm bed and cuddly San. It brought a smile to his face just thinking about it.

He talked to a few people he’d found on the street about the very vague information Ghost had managed to discover. Apparently, this operation was being kept on the down-low because very few of Wooyoung’s sources had anything substantial to tell him in regard to specifics.

The last person he went to was his only hope; though, Eden had never let him down before. And for a small fee of one thousand credits—a price that in the past would have been extremely annoying to work around—he didn’t disappoint this time around, either.

“Where’s your puppy, Treasure? What’s his name? Desire? Too cold out for him to follow you around tonight?” Eden asked, propping booted feet up on the table as he waited for the wire transfer of his money to go through.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Wooyoung shot back, feeling rather impatient.

“I guess it isn’t,” Eden agreed. “It’s just you two have been inseparable since he joined your operations. So what could you possibly need to know to grace me with your undivided attention?”

“I have reason to believe there’s an Agony transport mission happening within the coming days, I’d very much like to know more about something like that.”

“I’m sure you would,” Eden agreed. He checked his watch, confirming that his money had gone through before continuing. “There’s a small convoy transporting a series of microchips with new software specially developed for Agony’s systems. No one knows what that software entails but who cares, right? Whatever it is probably isn’t going to be good.”

“Where’s it going?” Wooyoung asked. Eden laughed.

“Where do you think?” He teased, taking a long sip of his drink. “The manor, of course. Though, you should probably stop it before it gets there. The pickup spot, however, is a basement parking garage off South Avenue and Tenth Street.”

“When is it happening?”

“What day is it today?”

“Saturday.”

“Then not this Monday but the one after that.”

Wooyoung drummed his hands triumphantly on the table upon hearing all the information he needed to fill in the gaps in Ghost’s info.

“You’re a saint, Eden.”

The older man laughed bitterly.

“How flattering,” he chortled. “Now it’s your turn to answer a question.”

“You know, you just made me pay you for your info, should I charge you for mine?” Wooyoung teased. Eden rolled his eyes.

“What a brat,” he laughed. “How about this? I’ll just ask the question and you can answer if you want.”

“Fine, what do you want to know?”

“I hear you guys are working with Ghost.”

“That’s not a question.”

“Are you?”

“Who wants to know?” Wooyoung asked. “You? Or your clientele?”

“How about everyone?” Eden laughed. “Come on, Treasure, people aren’t dumb; they know how to count. Well, most of them do anyway. Everyone knows your little team has seven members but oh? What was that on your little media stunt? An eighth member?”

“And? Couldn’t we have recruited another member?” Wooyoung asked. He really wasn’t sure if he should be telling everyone that Ghost was working with them. He didn’t think there’d be any repercussions to letting that information filter around the street, but one could never be too careful. When in doubt, keep silent he figured. Eden laughed again.

“What’s his name, then?”

“Promise,” Wooyoung said without missing a beat. He really hoped Eden didn’t turn around to read the strip club advertisement he’d just ripped that off of, however.

“Huh, okay,” the older man conceded, though he didn’t look in the least bit convinced. Wooyoung didn’t blame him. There wasn’t a whole lot he could do to lie to the man that had trained him in people-reading after all. “Guess I’ll put those rumors to rest for you all.”

“Thanks, we’d appreciate that,” Wooyoung told him. He stood up then, giving a small bow in appreciation to their organization’s oldest friend. Eden called after him before he left the bar, however.

“If you are working with Ghost, for whatever reason,” the man started. “I’d be more careful moving forward. My friends and I aren’t the only ones wondering these things. You all have awoken something very dangerous and I don’t want to see my favorite boys end up dead… or worse.”

“Who’s been asking?” Wooyoung asked.

“Who do you think?” Eden shot back. “If you think Agony is just going to let you all destroy them, you’ve got another thing coming, my Treasure. Just… be careful out there. They know more than you think.”

Wooyoung turned around and left the bar after that, a very bad feeling settling in his stomach. Eden’s words hit hard. He really didn’t like the sound of that.

~Mingi~

Mingi set his fork down with a clatter louder than he meant to make. He leaned back in his chair with a sigh, glancing over at the couple he and Yunho were surveilling.

Yunho chuckled.

“You’re bored,” he said before scooping the last bite of his dinner into his mouth.

“It’s been two hours,” Mingi whined.

Yunho laughed again.

“I mean, they are on a date. Can you really blame them?”

“What could they possibly have to talk about for _two hours_?”

“You know what they’re talking about,” Yunho said, tapping his right ear. “We can hear everything through Hongjoong’s channel.”

Mingi rubbed at the bridge of his nose, groaning quietly.

“I turned that off thirty minutes ago,” Mingi admitted. “If I had to listen to Hongjoong tell Seonghwa how “sweet” he is one more time, my ears were going to start bleeding.”

That earned him a kick from under the table. Mingi pouted:

“I mean, come on,” Mingi continued. “And I thought I was bad at flirting.”

“You are bad at flirting,” Yunho laughed, Mingi’s pout deepened. “Oh, don’t give me that.”

“But you fell for it…”

“Yeah I did,” Yunho smiled, Mingi blushed. Yunho then nodded over to the other couple a few tables down. “And Seonghwa clearly likes Hongjoong’s “crappy” flirting.”

Mingi glanced over at the pair. Seonghwa had been in a state of perpetual embarrassment and panic since the two of them had sat down. But despite that, the man seemed to be enjoying himself. At least that made one of them.

This would be Hongjoong and Seonghwa’s second date since Hongjoong had managed to weasel his way into Seonghwa’s life. This last week had been slow going, waiting for today and then the convoy that a few of them would be intercepting in two days on Monday. It had unsettled the entire team, going so many days without hearing anything from anyone anywhere. Especially after their very public call-out last week and the warning Wooyoung had received from Eden. They all were just waiting for Agony to hit back. They knew they would. Like Eden had said, Agony wasn’t just going to lie down and let them destroy all their operations. But they couldn’t counter an attack that hadn’t even happened yet so all they really could do was continue their plan with a little added caution. Hence why Yunho and Mingi were keeping an eye on Hongjoong and Seonghwa’s second date. No one on the team thought Seonghwa had any ulterior motives when it came to Hongjoong nor did any of them think the blond was on to Hongjoong in the least bit, but that didn’t mean the people Seonghwa was associated with weren’t watching his every move. If ATEEZ had been able to deduce that Seonghwa was a weak link in the organization as outsiders looking in, surely Agony was also well aware of this fact. Hell, Agony didn’t even have Seonghwa working any missions despite being one of their most highly trained officials. So they really could never be too careful when it came to their dealings with anything even remotely related to Agony.

As far as they could tell, though, no one was following Seonghwa and Hongjoong on their date except for the two of them. They were pretty sure of this fact, having already discreetly taken photos of every patron in the small restaurant and sent them over to Yeosang to be analyzed. Everyone had been clean and now, Mingi was bored. He loved his job… when he was actually doing something. Pretending to be on a date when he and Yunho hadn’t been on an actual date in months was just awful, especially since Yunho’s attention had been on other men for the majority of the night.

“They really are perfect for each other,” Mingi said, turning his attention back over to Yunho when Hongjoong obviously said something flirty and Seonghwa was yet again reduced to a flustered mess.

“You know they aren’t actually going out with each other, right?”

“Yeah, it’s a shame really,” Mingi sighed.

“It is kind of unfortunate that Hongjoong’s first escapade in dating is all just a plot to get information,” Yunho agreed.

“It’s probably Seonghwa’s first time, too. Judging by the way he’s acting, anyway.”

“How do you figure?”

“Look at how nervous he is,” Mingi said, side-eying the man in question. “You can see his hands shaking from here.”

Yunho glanced over to the table at Mingi’s words, then he chuckled quietly.

“Poor guy. Hongjoong’s going to eat him alive.”

“If he doesn’t trip over himself in the process,” Mingi joked.

“What a pair those two make,” Yunho agreed.

The two of them fell into silence again. Mingi thought about turning his earpiece on again, just to have something to do, _anything._ But when he looked over and saw Seonghwa shakily reaching out to wipe food from Hongjoong’s face like they were in some sort of romantic drama, Mingi decided that tuning into that conversation was actually just asking for death.

“Do we have to stay here?” Mingi whined after another year-like minute ticked by. “No one in their right mind would willingly watch that train wreck anyway.”

Yunho rolled his eyes, putting his silverware down. He didn’t answer Mingi’s question, instead, he flagged down their waiter and asked for the check.

“So… Is that a…?” Mingi trailed off once the waiter left to get their bill.

“We can go,” Yunho agreed. He leaned forward a bit, bracing both hands on the table as he smirked playfully over at him. He brought his voice down low so that only Mingi would hear his next words. “We can go do something more fun.”

Mingi laughed, thinking Yunho was just joking with him. When his demeanor didn’t change, Mingi was thrown for a loop.

“Wait, you’re being serious?”

Yunho nodded.

“When was the last time we… did anything together?” Yunho asked, clearing his throat mid-sentence. Mingi caught on quickly to where Yunho was going with this. “Jongho and Yeosang are babysitting… we can probably get another hour…”

“Where?” Mingi asked. They couldn’t exactly go home. Gunho would still be awake plus they’d have to get rid of Yeosang and Jongho. And they definitely couldn’t go to Mingi’s family home. His dad would be blackout drunk by now but Mingi’s bed was way too small for the both of them to fit. Hell, Mingi didn’t even fit by himself; that’s why he slept at Yunho’s place all the time. It’d been such a long time since the two of them had had a night to themselves; raising a child was exhausting and all the downtime they had between work and caring for Gunho was spent sleeping. Yunho was taking online college courses as well so that added another level of stress and even less time acting as the young couple in love they actually were.

“I have an idea,” Yunho winked at him and Mingi couldn’t stop himself from blushing bright red. It really _had_ been a long time. The thought alone was more excitement than he’d felt in a while.

They paid their food bill once their waiter had returned and sent a quick text message to Hongjoong, letting him know the coast was clear as far as they could tell, and they were going to duck out. Hongjoong didn’t respond obviously, but the two of them were going to leave regardless of what Hongjoong had to say on the matter anyway. Mingi would probably combust on the spot if they had to stay and watch those two act so disgustingly cute around each other a minute longer. There was no reason for them to stay. Hongjoong could handle it from there.

Yunho grabbed his hand as they left, pulling him along as they speed-walked it out of the restaurant as inconspicuously as they could manage. He led the two of them outside and back towards where they had parked their car. They’d just purchased the sleek black Challenger earlier in the week and Mingi was really starting to appreciate the convenience. They’d parked off the side of the curb on a darkened side street between alleyways to draw less attention to themselves so when they arrived at their vehicle there was no one in sight and only one other parked van a ways down the street. Dark. Quiet. Private. Convenient. Mingi slowly pieced together what Yunho’s plans were.

Yunho got in on the driver’s side and Mingi on the passenger’s; the same way they’d arrived. Yunho started up the car, the music they’d been listening to before began pounding through the speakers. The second the safety lights turned off leaving them in complete darkness, they moved quickly and frantically. Yunho pushed his seat back as far as he could, making more than enough room for Mingi as he crawled rather ungracefully over the center console and situated himself in Yunho’s lap. He reached down once in place, reclining the chair back so they would fit better in this position. They were both rather large guys, they probably should’ve thought about that a bit more… Mingi couldn’t find it in himself to care, though. He had fantasized about getting fucked in a car on occasion—what teenager hadn’t? —the cramped quarters, the thrill of being caught at any moment… Yeah, Mingi was one hundred percent on board for this idea.

“You okay with this?” Yunho asked, his voice breathy as he looked up at Mingi. His hands began to roam up his chest; Mingi shivered.

“Yes,” he said, then he said it four more times just to get his point across as clearly as possible. Mingi kissed his boyfriend, capturing his lips in a bruising kiss. Yunho groaned at the action, his roaming hands traveling back down to grip Mingi’s ass tightly with his large hands. Mingi threaded his fingers through Yunho’s hair, tilting his head to deepen their kiss. Their tongues mingled between their mouths before Yunho pushed back, forcing his way into Mingi’s mouth as he sat up a bit, causing their groins to grind together as they now sat chest to chest. They both moaned at the friction.

Mingi was living for this moment. They really needed to do this kind of thing more often. With how long it had been, the two of them were super high-strung, completely drunk off of one another. This was going to be over embarrassingly quick. Both of them were already completely hard from just a little heavy make out. Sometimes Mingi forgot he was just a twenty-year-old guy with how he lived his life. Guess Gunho wasn’t the only one who had had to grow up way too fast.

Yunho rolling his hips up to grind their erections together reminded Mingi where they were, taking him out of his thoughts and clouding his mind with a thick haze of pure lust.

Mingi moaned, though all their noises were drowned out by the music playing through their car’s sound system. The bass was throbbing, Mingi could feel it coursing through his body, adding to the already electrified way he was feeling.

With quite a bit of maneuvering, both Yunho and Mingi managed to pull off their pants enough for what they wanted to accomplish, Mingi having elbowed Yunho in the face only once in their struggle.

“Sorry,” Mingi giggled. Yunho shook his head, rolling his eyes jokingly.

“You’re lucky you’re hot,” Yunho teased, beginning to kiss up the length of Mingi’s neck as he took his erection in his large hand. Mingi groaned, throwing his head back to give Yunho more access, his eyes slipping shut in pleasure.

“Do you have anything for—?” Mingi managed to pant out around the pleasure shooting up his spine as Yunho stroked his dick.

“Way ahead of you,” Yunho laughed. He stopped his ministrations, moving to open the center console to show off what he had apparently stashed there at some point: lube and some condoms.

Mingi laughed.

“So were you planning this or…?”

“Well, I had an idea…” Yunho admitted, a sly smile sneaking onto his face.

“I love you,” Mingi breathed, surging forward to capture Yunho’s lips in a kiss that was more tongue than anything else. He was vaguely aware of the sound of the lube bottle snapping open before the next song began blasting through the speakers. The bass was low, thrumming through the car with a sensual beat. Mingi felt cold, slick fingers begin probing their way up into him, gently but with a purpose. Mingi could tell Yunho’s resolve was breaking by the way he was squirming below him. Both of them were getting very desperate. It always excited Mingi when Yunho got like this: just as frantic as he was; it made him feel wanted, sexy even.

Mingi moaned whorishly when two fingers pushed deep up into him. He broke their kiss, panting against Yunho’s lips. Yunho looked up at him like he was the only thing in the world, watching his reactions with pupils blown wide.

“Yunho… more—” he managed to get out but cut himself off with another debauched moan when Yunho’s long fingers went that much deeper, hitting just right to have him seeing stars.

Yunho added a third finger at Mingi’s request, thrusting in and out of him at an agonizingly slow and jerky pace. It still wasn’t enough. They were moving far too slowly for how worked up he was. He decided to take matters into his own hands. He wanted to make Yunho squirm, make him forget everything but _his_ name. The thought alone turned him on even more and he hadn’t thought that was possible at this point.

He batted Yunho’s hand away from him, whining as those amazing fingers slipped out of him. He desperately wanted to take their time, to have the both of them ravage each other well into the night. But they didn’t have time for that nor did they have the space. A quick fuck in the car would just have to do until they could find more time. It was more than Mingi had been hoping for anyway. Quickly and with more grace than he ever thought he could possess, he took a condom out of its packaging and carefully slipped it onto Yunho’s erection. Then without giving the man any time to react, he sunk himself down. Both of them groaned unabashed at this new development.

Mingi started off slow for Yunho’s sake more so than his own. Just rolling his hips slowly against Yunho’s, loving the way the man’s dick felt inside of him. Yunho gripped Mingi’s hips harshly; a carnal side of him hoped he left behind bruises for only him to see. Once he was sure he could take it, Mingi picked up the pace. Picking up his hips, he dropped himself down over and over again, bouncing frantically in Yunho’s lap.

“Mingi, fuck—” Yunho swore. He threw his head back against the car seat. Groaning loudly, his Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped thickly, his eyes shut tight in pleasure. “I love you so fucking much.”

Mingi moaned at his words. He loved it when Yunho lost control when he lost his usual perfect composure all because of him. He kissed his way along his boyfriend’s neck, eating up the delicious whimpers and moans that fell constantly from the man’s mouth. They both were on cloud nine.

“ _Hyung,”_ He whined, just teasing him at this point. “Touch me, please.”

He buried his face in Yunho’s neck, sucking a dark bruise onto his flawless skin as a heavy, sloppy hand gripped his neglected erection. He stroked Mingi roughly, not even in time with their actions but Mingi didn’t care, couldn’t care with how absolutely wonderful he was feeling.

Pleasure coursed through his everything and he too joined in on Yunho’s continual moaning. His thighs were on fire, his knees were locking up from their cramped position and he was sure Yunho’s legs were probably asleep because of Mingi’s heavy weight, but neither of them wanted to be anywhere else. The stretch, the heat, the music, the sounds; Mingi’s senses were overwhelmed and he loved every second of it.

Yunho came first with a bitten back scream of Mingi’s name, his teeth clenched as his body locked up. Mingi ground down hard on him, burying that fantastic cock deep within him, rubbing at his prostate until he was seeing white. He collapsed against Yunho, laying his forehead against his shoulder as both of them tried to catch their breath.

“I love you,” Mingi mumbled. Yunho laughed light-heartedly.

“I love you too,” he agreed, tapping Mingi’s chin to get him to look at him once more. When Mingi complied slowly, Yunho kissed him lightly and sweetly. Affection swelled in his chest at the action. He still didn’t know what he did to deserve this man, but he’d be damned if he was ever going to let him go.

Mingi shifted a bit, separating himself from Yunho but not leaving his lap. Carefully, so not as to overstimulate, Mingi pulled the condom off Yunho’s length, tying it off and then throwing it in a stray shopping bag left on the floor, making a mental note to take care of that later. They really couldn’t leave that in here. If Gunho found it… well, that would be horrifying for all parties involved.

“Buying this car was a great idea,” Mingi laughed, looking down at his smiling boyfriend once they had managed to get themselves properly clothed again.

“I agree,” Yunho said, brushing a few strands of hair out of Mingi’s eyes. “Though, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when we purchased it.”

“You’re the one who came prepared…”

“Guilty as charged,” Yunho admitted with a shrug. “How can I help myself when you have an ass like that?”

He grabbed a handful for added effect. Mingi jokingly rolled his eyes before leaning down to kiss him again and—

_Bang!_

Their back windshield exploded into a spiderweb of cracks originating from a singular hole. Before Mingi or Yunho could even comprehend what had happened, another bang sounded throughout the alleyway they were parked in, echoing around them menacingly. The cracked windshield shattered completely in an explosion of glass. Then one more: Mingi flinched. He ducked down but not fast enough; a searing pain went across the left side of his head. He felt warm, thick liquid begin dripping down his neck. Bewildered, Mingi brought a hand to his ear, finding a small section to be missing. He brought his hand back in front of his eyes, completely shocked to see red staining his fingers. Yunho looked between his fingers and Mingi, clearly just as confused by what was happening as Mingi was.

Then Mingi saw it.

That black van parked down the road from where they were. They’d just assumed it’d been empty. No one had been following Hongjoong and Seonghwa, but Yunho and Mingi hadn’t even checked to see if anyone was following them. And now…

_They’re shooting at us._

Mingi and Yunho’s eyes locked as they both came to the same conclusion. Another gunshot went off, missing their car completely as the bullet lodged itself in a nearby tree. They were using real bullets too.

Both of them sprang into action as continuous gunfire began to rain down upon them. Mingi threw himself into the passenger’s seat and Yunho fixed his chair into a proper sitting position.

“Go!” Mingi shouted and Yunho kicked the car into gear and slammed on the pedal. They drifted out onto the main road, ignoring all the angry honks they got from other cars. But the Agony van followed them just as fast, probably expecting them to run once they realized what was happening. Mingi ducked behind his seat after trying to get a good look at the car following them, getting shot at the second his head was in range.

Holy shit.

These agents were trying to kill them.

“They’re still following us,” Mingi shouted over the wind. Their back window was completely gone. “We need to lose them before we go anywhere.”

Yunho nodded frantically in agreement.

“Are you alright?” Yunho shouted over at him. Mingi didn’t understand the question.

“What?”

“Are you alright? You got hit… Your ear is bleeding—”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just grazed me. Turn right, here!”

Yunho complied quickly, jerking the car to the right, cringing slightly when he cut off another car suddenly. Cars around them slammed on the breaks; tires screeched against the slick pavement. The van followed them, completely ramming through the car Yunho had cut off. They didn’t even try to avoid them. Pedestrians flew away from the crash, looking just about as terrified as Mingi and Yunho felt.

“Shit,” Mingi swore. He looked over to Yunho. He had a crazed and rather panicked look on his face. Mingi couldn’t blame him; he felt just as frantic and panicked. But they had bigger things to worry about right now. They had to lose this car. Buildings raced past Mingi’s vision as his mind worked on overdrive for a plan. Anything. Something. They blasted through a stoplight that had newly turned red; traffic from the left and right blaring hard on their horns as they swerved to avoid the two cars.

Mingi took a few deep breaths. Think. There had to be something they could do. They couldn’t go anywhere that would tie the rest of the team to them; so the hideout was off-limits, so was their apartment and everyone else’s places of residence. Mingi thought of a million different places they could go but the destination really didn’t matter. What did matter was making enough moves to lose the car behind them. They couldn’t go through heavily trafficked areas because as they just saw, the agents behind them didn’t care about harming innocent citizens in order to get their marks. So they needed to stay on side streets. Mingi had an idea then. His home sanction of the city. The south side, the slums. No one would be out and about at this time of night and there were numerous side streets that would probably be way too narrow for Agony’s van to fit through whereas their small muscle car would have no problems navigating the streets Mingi knew like the back of his hand. He even had the perfect section of streets figured out. Alright. Plan formed. Now to navigate his panicking boyfriend.

“We need to go to the south side. You know how to get to my dad’s place from here?”

Yunho nodded, taking another swerving turn left at Mingi’s instructions, getting them started in the right direction. The sound of tires screeching not seconds later informed Mingi that the Agony agents had followed after them. Yunho’s eyes glanced in the rearview mirror, noticing the van was gaining on them. He pressed down harder on the gas, approaching seventy miles an hour on a city road. The street lights whizzed past them in nothing but a blur. Yunho gripped the steering wheel harder, his knuckles turning white.

“Shit,” Yunho swore, looking through his mirrors again. They took another few turns, each one even riskier than the last as they gained even more speed to keep the van far enough away from them. Any closer and they could ram into the back of them.

Once Mingi started to recognize the buildings around them, he started shouting directions at Yunho, leading them directly where they needed to go. The agents were starting to get impatient. More gunshots began to echo around them. Yunho swerved in his panic but Mingi grabbed his hand closest to him, steadying the wheel and hopefully giving him some sort of comfort.

“Turn right at the stop sign!” Mingi told him.

“But that’s not a road!” Yunho shouted back, locking on to the area Mingi was talking about.

“It is, just trust me. It’s going to be tight, though, so don’t swing wide.”

Yunho did as he was told, squeezing through the small alleyway, just barely avoiding taking out one of their side-view mirrors. The Agony van skidded to a halt behind them, realizing just as they tried to follow them that they wouldn’t be able to fit. Mingi watched the car quickly back up and continue down the road. They hadn’t lost them yet; they could still swing around and meet up with them, but this would put enough distance between them to lose them at the next one if they played their cards right.

Mingi told him to turn right when they came back to a major road and Yunho nodded in understanding, eyes hyper-focused on the road in front of him. They skidded onto the road Mingi told him about, zooming down the street at high speeds. Mingi turned around to look behind them, a feeling of relief rushed through him when he saw that the Agony agent’s van hadn’t turned onto this road yet. Perfect, just a bit more and they’d be home—

Their car slammed to a halt out of nowhere. Mingi just barely caught himself against the dashboard, not having had enough time to put on his seat belt before they took off. He looked out the front to see what the issue was and nearly groaned in frustration. They were stopped at a stoplight.

“What on earth are you doing?” Mingi asked.

“It’s red! I can’t go through the stoplight! We almost ran one already!” Yunho yelled back, clearly, his panic had gotten to him a bit too much. Mingi blanched, nearly slamming his head on the dashboard voluntarily this time. Mingi checked behind them. His eyes widened when he saw the black van turn onto the road two blocks away. _Shit._

“You don’t stop during a car chase! They’re trying to kill us!”

“It’s the law!”

Mingi took a deep breath, trying a different approach.

“Babe, I know you’re freaked out and I want you to know I completely understand but we need to go. _Now.”_ He said as calmly as he could muster. Yunho glanced into the rearview mirror, seeing the agent’s car approaching them once more. He took a deep breath and without warning slammed on the gas once more, blowing through the red light. It’s not like anyone would know anyway. Mingi knew for a fact that none of the stoplights in this area of town had cameras on them so unless a cop actually saw you blow through it, no one cared. Mingi couldn’t remember how many times a member of his family, himself included, had done so in the past. His boyfriend’s willingness to follow the law was a little cute, though. He made a mental note to make fun of him for that later… when they weren’t being chased by psychopaths looking to kill them.

Agony was still a good distance away from them, two perfectly timed turns and they’d lose them for good now. Mingi told Yunho directions and yet again, Yunho followed them perfectly. The wind whipped around them as street lights vanished and the roads became increasingly darker, the buildings increasingly vacant. The sound of a pursuing car grew more and more distant, the threat of death no longer looming menacingly over their shoulders. Mingi made Yunho make another few spiraling turns down too small of streets for Agony to follow just in case.

Yunho slowly brought the car to a stop once both of them were confident no one was following them any longer. They both slumped against their seats, sharing an absolutely exhausted look.

“Fuck,” Yunho swore.

“Yeah,” Mingi agreed. A thought suddenly zinged through his head. Springing back into action, Mingi threw himself out of the car and immediately began running his hand along the underside of their car. He found what he was looking for under their back-left wheel. A small tracking device, blinking red every couple of seconds. Mingi ran to the end of the street, taking the tracking device and chucking it as far as he possibly could down the road. Satisfied that it had gone far enough, Mingi turned back down their side alley and lightly jogged back to the car. He found Yunho leaning against the car when he returned, his eyes out of focus as he stared at the ground, completely lost in his own thoughts. As Mingi got closer, he realized the older man was shaking. Mingi picked up his pace a little more.

“Hey,” he said, cupping Yunho’s cheek and forcing him out of his probably panicked thoughts. Yunho looked at him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice coming out choked. He cleared his throat. “Are you alright? Your ear…”

Careful fingers came up to gently touch his left ear. Mingi flinched as the tender skin burned with pain at the touch.

“I’ll be okay.”

Yunho nodded, looking as if he were trying to convince himself more than actually agreeing with Mingi’s statement. Mingi pulled him close, hugging him tightly. Yunho latched onto him desperately, both of them enjoying and savoring the comfort of their embrace.

With the adrenaline fading, the gravity of the situation began to sink in between the both of them. A few agents of Agony had found them, had known who they were despite never having shown their faces in association with the organization. The warning Wooyoung had brought back to them last week from Eden rang through his head. _They know more than you think._

And if that were the case, this was only the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! All comments are very much appreciated! The next chapter will be more action-packed so it might take me a bit longer to write it all up, but I promise it will get done! 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter! @AAvery151  
> Follow my Beta reader! @TrashKing52


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took waaayy longer than expected and for that, I apologize, but this monstrosity of a chapter is over 17k words long so hopefully that makes up for it all. I'm hoping the next chapter won't take as long; it certainly isn't going to be as long... I hope. Anyway, enjoy!

~Hongjoong~

Hongjoong checked his watch for the fifth time in the span of two minutes, feeling increasingly anxious the more the seconds ticked by. They were perfectly on time at the moment, perhaps even ahead of schedule. In exactly ten minutes their plan would be a go; that was, of course, if Agony was on time as well. Everyone was in position. Yunho and Mingi were down in the parking garage Eden had informed them of, waiting for the drop off to occur so they could move in when the time came. Yeosang was their eye in the sky, having tapped into every security camera Agony could possibly pass by on their way to the Governor’s mansion. He also had even more cameras flying in the sky just in case there were any surprises. San and Wooyoung were on standby close to the mansion in case things went majorly wrong and Jongho was across town, high up in a building with a sniper rifle. They probably wouldn’t need it, but they could never be too careful. And then there was Hongjoong’s position. He and Ghost were waiting down the road from the parking garage, tucked into a narrow alleyway while they waited for Mingi and Yunho to drop off the micro-chips they were going after. They were also there for backup in case of a change in plans.

Hongjoong had the whole team working on this mission. Under normal circumstances, this could easily be just a two-person job with Yeosang monitoring from afar. But they had to step up their game. After what had happened to Yunho and Mingi just two days ago, they’d been on high alert. If Agony had been able to discover Yunho and Mingi’s real identities—two of their most careful agents—there was no telling what else they might also know about them at this point. For all they knew, and what Hongjoong was assuming just to be safe, Agony knew everything about them. None of them had gone home; they all had set up camp, so to speak, in the warehouse since the incidence to avoid leading more agents directly to their homes and families. Mingi and Yunho had opted to stay at a hotel to avoid Gunho posing unanswerable questions or even, as unthinkable as it was, getting caught up with all this shady business. And for this mission, Hongjoong didn’t want anyone to be caught off guard. He had everyone ready for anything. Their backup plans had backup plans; they couldn’t mess this up. They needed a win today to boost morale. Everyone was growing increasingly hesitant to proceed; Mingi and Yunho’s near-death experience had put everyone on edge. They couldn’t stop now, though; they were too far into it. Agony wasn’t just going to let this go, not after they’d publicly called them out as they had. They’d awoken the sleeping bear and no amount of lullabies was going to put it back to sleep now.

Hongjoong rolled out his shoulders, checking his watch once again. Eight minutes.

“You know, checking the time isn’t going to make it move any faster,” Ghost teased, chuckling quietly as he leaned casually against one of the brick walls forming the alleyway, arms crossed and a leg propped up against it.

“I’m just making sure,” Hongjoong said, trying—and failing—to keep his annoyance out of his voice.

“You’re just freaking yourself out more,” Ghost chided.

“And you just know _so_ much about me, don’t you?” Hongjoong shot back. He really wasn’t in the mood to be dealing with this strange man today. But the team had collectively decided they needed to keep better track of their “new member”. The man had previously been an Agony agent, who’s to say he wasn’t leaking information to his old organization? They didn’t know this guy, and all of this was starting to look like way too much of a coincidence. For all their careful planning, they’d neglected to pay attention to the biggest red flag of them all. So, Hongjoong was partnered with Ghost today. He’d be keeping a very close eye on him. Too bad that also meant spending time with him when he’d rather be doing literally anything else.

“No,” Ghost said. “Though I’d like to get close enough to know you that well, I just happen to be _very_ good at reading people.”

Hongjoong couldn’t stop the eye roll.

“So you’ve said.”

“You, however, are especially easy to read.”

Hongjoong scoffed, deciding to not even dignify that with a response.

“You should probably watch yourself a bit more, especially when you’re trying to get closer to one Mr. Park Seonghwa,” Ghost went on despite Hongjoong’s silence. “Speaking of which, how’s that going, hm?”

“How is that any of your business?” Hongjoong shot back.

“Aw, don’t be that way. We’re partners today, aren’t we? I just want to know what my partner is doing with other men.”

“Oh, so you’re jealous now?”

Ghost laughed at that one.

“Well, of course. Who wouldn’t be? To have your full romantic attention would be a dream come true,” Ghost said without missing a beat. Hongjoong paused for a moment. He really couldn’t tell if this man was being sincere or just trying to be an annoyance; reading his voice was next to impossible.

“You’re insane,” Hongjoong decided, shaking his head.

“Maybe,” Ghost agreed. Then, he threw Hongjoong for another loop. “Have you kissed him yet?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re trying to get into his house, aren’t you? You’ve been on two dates, it would only make sense you’d have kissed him by now.”

Hongjoong stared at the man for a minute in stunned silence.

“What is wrong with you?” He asked, realizing the longer he didn’t say anything the more he condemned himself. He was grateful his mask covered most of his face so that it hid the very visible blush that was surely taking over. It wasn’t like he didn’t _want_ to kiss Seonghwa or anyone for that matter, he had just… never done anything like that before. He didn’t want to embarrass himself with his inexperience. He’d probably die from it as far as he knew.

“That’s a no, then,” Ghost decided finitely.

“Wha—?” Hongjoong immediately began sputtering. “Why do you care so much? What does it matter to you? Are you trying to seduce Park Seonghwa or am I?”

Ghost chuckled but ignored Hongjoong’s questions. Instead, he posed another one of his own, causing Hongjoong’s embarrassment to get even worse:

“Have you ever kissed another guy?”

“Why do you care?”

“Another no,” Ghost decided with a small huff of laughter. At this point, Hongjoong was convinced Ghost was just trying to get a rise out of him. He hated how much he was succeeding, hated how much he was clearly enjoying Hongjoong’s humiliation.

“Why are you even asking if you’re just going to assume my answers anyway?” Hongjoong asked, barely keeping his frustration under wraps.

“Have I been wrong?”

Hongjoong racked his brain for a good comeback but found none. Instead, broken sentences got stuck in his throat, allowing Ghost to continue with this frustrating line of questions.

“Have you ever kissed _anyone_ before?”

Hongjoong couldn’t take it anymore.

“No, I haven’t! You’re right! About everything! Are you happy now? Did you find out everything you wanted to know? I haven’t kissed anyone ever. I have no experience whatsoever. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Hongjoong snapped, his frustration and embarrassment taking over. He was completely fed up with this man’s antics. He knew he was just giving in to what he wanted but he didn’t care at this point.

Ghost shook his head, clicking his tongue distastefully.

“You’re even more dramatic than I am,” he laughed. Then, moving quicker than Hongjoong had time to comprehend what was happening, Ghost was stepping closer to him. He pulled his face mask down just past his lips, but by that point, he was way too close for Hongjoong to see anything of his face below stunningly blue eyes. Hongjoong was frozen in place. What was happening? He felt a single, long finger curl around the top of his own mask, a blunt nail grazing his skin gently as he pulled the black fabric down past his own lips. He was moving even closer, those blue eyes slipping shut. Hongjoong didn’t understand what was happening, even as he felt gentle, soft, full lips connect with his own.

A few seconds ticked by.

Hongjoong jerked away, slapping a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide as his face broke out into an uncontrollable blush worse than the one he had before. Ghost’s mask was back on his face before Hongjoong even thought to get a glimpse of it. His brain was too busy short-circuiting to really comprehend anything. Had he just…? Was that…? His first…?

Ghost chuckled at his reaction.

“Now it’s not such a big deal,” the man said. “If it helps, Park Seonghwa’s never been in a relationship that I know of, either.”

That did _not_ help Hongjoong sort out what had just happened, but it was going to be a helpful fact once his brain was functioning again. Had that actually just happened? Had Ghost actually just kissed him? Had he just lost his first kiss to someone whose face he’d probably never know? That couldn’t have happened. He was dreaming. He had to be. That was the only logical explanation. His escapades with Seonghwa had just left him wanting more, wanting actual companionship. It wouldn’t be so much of a stretch to think his brain would latch onto Ghost in an unconscious state. He was tall, his eyes were mesmerizing, his lithe form, the graceful way he moved, the air of confidence around him, and the way his tight clothes hugged his form under his jacket was all very pleasing to the eye; though, his personality left a lot to be desired. He was almost the exact opposite of Seonghwa in that regard.

What had the man been thinking? Did he actually think it was okay to just kiss him without asking? Did he actually think it was okay to even kiss him to begin with? What the hell was wrong with this man?! Hongjoong couldn’t understand it. Regardless of the fact that maybe he was a little attracted to Ghost’s physique—he liked tall guys, okay? Cut him some slack—he was wholly _not_ okay with the man assaulting him like that. If they weren’t on a highly sensitive mission that required a perfect schedule, Hongjoong would’ve chewed his ear off for hours, not to even mention hit him a few thousand times just to make himself feel better about the whole ordeal.

“King!”

Hongjoong snapped out of his reverie in an instant upon realizing someone had been calling his name through his earpiece. Coming to the conclusion that he was being ridiculous—Ghost was probably expecting a grand overreaction, well he wasn’t going to give it to him—he pulled his face mask back on properly and sprang into action.

“What is it? Go.” Hongjoong responded, unmuting himself and getting back into the right mindset. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—dwell on this stupid situation, wouldn’t play right into this strange and aggravating man’s whims. He had to focus. He had to be his team’s leader. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by petty arguments. He’d deal with Ghost latter.

“We have movement down here,” Yunho’s modulated voice began explaining. “Three men in suits, one with a briefcase cuffed to his wrist.”

“They’ll be getting into an unmarked, black SUV,” Ghost spoke up. “Those are the standard Agony transport vehicles.”

“Got it,” Mingi said. “We have eyes on the cars, moving in on them now.”

“Wait, cars? As in plural?” This time it was Wooyoung who interjected. “Eden mentioned only one transport.”

“There are three cars that match that description all parked next to each other,” Mingi explained.

Hongjoong didn’t like the sound of that. That was all too convenient and not at all inconspicuous. What was their angle here?

“Shit,” Yunho swore.

“What’s going on down there?” Hongjoong asked.

“There’s another man with a briefcase,” Mingi answered. “Fuck and a third. It looks like they were expecting us.”

Of course they were, Hongjoong thought bitterly. It would only make sense that they would plant a couple of decoys if they were worried about sensitive information potentially being stolen. Hongjoong had planned for this, no problem. He was one step ahead of them, as always.

“Alright, new plan boys. Don’t panic,” Hongjoong began. “We need to move fast, so listen closely. Utopia, Twilight, I want you two on the last vehicle to leave the garage. Get in there, get the briefcase, neutralize the agents before they pull out of the garage, got it?”

He received two simultaneous “yes sirs” from Yunho and Mingi.

“Desire, Treasure, how fast can you both get to this side of town?”

“If Desire drives, four minutes,” Wooyoung snickered. San was always kind of a reckless driver— Wooyoung almost never let him drive because of it—but his risk-taking nature would surely come in handy in this situation. He feared for the safety of anyone that was so unlucky to cross their car’s path within the next coming minutes.

“Alright, you two will intercept the second car. Let the first pass and then go for it. I don’t care what it takes, just try not to cause a panic.”

“On it,” San affirmed.

“Illusion, if any of those SUVs change course, you need to be on top of it and let us know immediately.”

“As if you even had to ask,” Yeosang shot back.

“Aurora, keep where you are but be ready at a moment’s notice to leave and join one of the teams.”

“Of course, Captain.”

Hongjoong then turned to Ghost, ready to relay to him what they were going to be doing.

“We need to get to the first car after Treasure and Desire get to the second,” Hongjoong told him. Ghost nodded in understanding, immediately pulling back his sleeve and beginning to fiddle with the watch around his wrist. He didn’t move an inch.

“Come on, we need to get going. I have a car—”

“There’s no time,” Ghost interjected. He righted his sleeve then, beginning to walk briskly down the alleyway they were positioned in and out onto the sidewalk. Hongjoong quickly followed him, not really knowing what else to do.

“What are you doing?” Hongjoong asked, clearly not understanding Ghost’s play here. Ghost, however, didn’t have to explain anything because a few seconds after the question was asked, Hongjoong got his answer. Blasting down the road came a sleek, black, unmanned motorcycle with neon pink edge-lights built into the framework. It skidded to a halt in front of them, engine rumbling idly as it waited for its driver.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Hongjoong groaned.

“Sorry sweetheart,” Ghost laughed, quickly approaching his bike and swinging a leg over it.

“I’m not getting on that thing.”

“We don’t have time to debate this, we definitely don’t have time to run and grab your car back at HQ, and I know for certain that you’d never agree to steal a car off the street, so come on.”

“Boss, two of the convoys are heading down the road now. Desire and Treasure are getting into position, ready when you are,” Yeosang informed him. That must’ve meant Yunho and Mingi had managed to stop the third from leaving the garage. The agents would start to realize something was amiss any second now. He really didn’t have a choice…

“Shit,” Hongjoong swore under his breath. Quickly, he followed Ghost’s example and swung a leg over the bike. He involuntarily slid forward once situated on the leather seats so that he was way too close to Ghost for comfort, his chest almost completely flush with the taller man’s back. He _really_ didn’t like this plan.

“Hold on tight, love,” Ghost teased, revving the engine once before they took off in an instant down the road. Hongjoong let out a startled yelp that was easily drowned out over the roar of the engine, quickly wrapping his arms around the man’s waist. Suddenly, he really didn’t care about the position they were in as he feared for his life.

The wind howled in his ears as they practically flew down the street. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in Ghost’s movements; he swerved past car after car, always finding an opening no matter how small all the while gaining speed. Buildings and cars alike raced past his vision in one giant blur of color. Hongjoong could barely make out where they were, too afraid to raise his head from where his cheek was pressed to Ghost’s back. Car horns blared as Ghost cut off cars in his push forward but not even that deterred him.

“Illusion, where am I going?” Ghost asked through the commlink. His voice was steady, cool and calculated. Hongjoong was glad someone was at least.

“They’re on Seventh street now, about to take a left onto Central Avenue,” Yeosang immediately began to relay to them. “Desire and Treasure are in place to intercept the second car two blocks down on Central.”

“Fantastic,” Ghost agreed. Then, tires screeching across the rain-slick pavement, Ghost took a sharp turn to the left. Once straightened out, Ghost revved up the engine again, picking back up the speed they’d lost in the turn and gaining more along the way.

“King, you hanging in back there?” Ghost asked still through the earpieces so that they’d have a chance of hearing each other, his voice light-hearted despite the situation. Hongjoong hated to admit it but Ghost really was good. Keeping his cool despite the high-risk situation. Now, granted Hongjoong was usually pretty good about staying calm in stressful situations too, but clinging to a complete stranger for dear life on the back of a motorcycle going upwards of ninety miles an hour through heavy traffic was a stress he just wasn’t used to.

“I guess you could say that,” Hongjoong responded. Ghost laughed. They took another, even riskier turn to the left. Hongjoong barely registered the street sign reading “Central Ave.” as they went, heavy raindrops bombarding his face and clouding his vision.

“Alright, the cars are in sight,” Ghost relayed to the team. Hongjoong steeled himself, sitting up straighter to look down the road. About a block and a half down the street, Hongjoong caught sight of the large, boxy black cars. “What do you want me to do, Sir?”

Hongjoong paused.

“What?”

“You’re our leader, aren’t you?” Ghost laughed. “What are your orders, Captain?”

He snapped into action immediately.

“Hang back a bit, stay out of their sight until Desire and Treasure intercept the second car.”

“Yes sir,” Ghost immediately agreed. He swerved the bike behind a bright red car, slowing down to the speed limit while they waited for their cue. That cue came exactly on time as Yeosang had suggested. As the second black car entered the intersection, even from a block away, Hongjoong heard a car engine rev up, tires squealing as they tried to find traction on the wet pavement. A dark blue sedan that Hongjoong didn’t recognize—Wooyoung and San must’ve lifted it—came speeding across the intersection despite the red light it had. Car horns blared as passersby slammed on their breaks. The blue car didn’t’ stop, colliding head-on with the target SUV. The two cars went gliding across the road at the impact, thankfully managing to stay upright and avoiding innocent citizens.

“Well, that’s one way to do it… So much for not causing a panic…” Hongjoong laughed.

“You did say you didn’t care how they did it,” Ghost agreed with a chuckle.

“You two alright up there?” Hongjoong asked.

“That wasn’t the plan we discussed,” Wooyoung said exasperated; San’s hissing laughter could be heard in the background. “You’re a madman.”

“We’re fine,” San said, answering Hongjoong’s question. “Give the last one hell, Boss.”

Hongjoong turned his attention to the third and final car as per San’s request. Upon seeing what had happened to the car behind it, the driver of the target vehicle began to step on it. Racing away from the crash, the agents inside had probably begun to figure out their operation had been compromised. That was their cue.

“Catch up to that last one,” Hongjoong ordered.

“Yes sir,” Ghost immediately agreed, twisting his wrist and swerving out from behind the stopped traffic. Then, just as fast, they were racing down the street right after it. With the extra mobility that Ghost’s motorcycle gave them, they quickly gained on their target. They blasted past the crash Wooyoung and San had caused just as the black-clad duo were emerging from the car they’d commandeered, guns brandished and ready to procure their own target. Without much of an issue at all, Ghost maneuvered through the busy streets, gaining fast on the large SUV that was having a much harder time. The wind whipped across Hongjoong’s face—it was a miracle they both still had their hats—and the roar of the motorcycle filled his ears. With his face no longer pressed against Ghost’s back, Hongjoong saw the full force of riding on a bike at high speeds. Buildings, cars, people; they all flashed across his peripherals but Hongjoong was focused on one thing only. This mission _had_ to be a success. It would raise morale, give them a leg up in their newly started war.

“Stay behind them so they can’t fire at us,” Hongjoong told Ghost.

“Got it.”

“Get in close but be ready to brake hard just in case,” he continued. Ghost maneuvered in close to the car, only around ten feet away. With a deep breath, Hongjoong let go of Ghost’s waist with one arm, pulling out the 9mm handgun he kept strapped to his hip. He reached straight out, steading his arm against the side of Ghost’s body. The man didn’t even flinch, probably already having deduced what Hongjoong’s plan was.

“Try to keep steady.”

Ghost nodded, keeping the bike in as straight of a line as possible so Hongjoong could get an accurate aim. He cleared his mind, ignoring the immense anxiety he felt being on Ghost’s bike, ignoring the fact that one wrong move and both of them were dead going as fast as they were, ignoring the fact that he was placing so much trust in a complete stranger. With a deep breath, he pulled the trigger.

One shot. Two. Three. At four Hongjoong hit his mark. The car’s back right tire ruptured with a loud pop, the rubber outside breaking apart from the puncturing bullet. The SUV immediately veered to the left, tires screaming against the friction from the street. Hongjoong traded his gun into his other hand, steadying it once again and taking more shots. His fifth bullet connected with the other back tire, but instead of simply popping, the tire exploded. Rubber flew everywhere as the black SUV was propelled up into the air. Hongjoong immediately gripped onto Ghost’s slender waist once more as the man pressed on the breaks, swerving the bike around to the right to stop even faster. The pair of them watched in amazement as the large, black car flew through the air, flipping to land with a loud crash on its top.

Cars from all sides of the large intersection skidded to a halt around the crash. Pedestrians began crowding around the scene, some emerging from cars, others simply walking down the street who were unfortunate enough to witness the spectacle.

Ghost whistled in awe.

“What a shot,” he laughed.

“Thanks,” Hongjoong agreed, even though he really hadn’t meant for that to happen. He swung a leg over the bike first, Ghost following after him once he was off.

The two of them walked briskly to the crashed and smoking vehicle, Ghost drawing his own gun as Hongjoong reloaded his. They paid no mind to the confused chatter from onlookers, the flash of cameras, or the red recording lights from a hundred different phones. They had a job to do and Hongjoong was going to see this through to the end. It was pure coincidence that they’d crashed the last car into the middle of the largest and busiest intersection in the entire city, but they couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. ATEEZ was going to make a name for themselves today one way or—

“Watch out!” Ghost shouted suddenly, grabbing Hongjoong’s arm and pulling him backward as a line of suppressed gunfire rained down in a line right where they’d been walking. Ghost didn’t hesitate, aiming his own firearm up in the direction the gunfire had come from. Onlookers screamed and ran for cover. A few brave and idiotic souls stayed, continuing to film the action on their cellphones.

Hongjoong watched in confusion as more SUVs, identical to the one he and Ghost had just totaled, began to file into the intersection. Within a few seconds, the entire other half of the four-way stop was swarming with Agony agents, white animal masks shining through the gloomy rain. Around fifty guns were pointed at the two of them, stopping them from coming any closer.

“Shit,” Ghost swore, pointing his gun forward despite being so outnumbered.

“We’re going to need all hands on deck,” Hongjoong told his team through the commlinks. “Aurora, get back to the hideout with Illusion.”

He received a choir of “yes sirs” once more before he turned to the Agony agents in front of him, his own gun outstretched right along with Ghost’s.

“Pirate King!” A man shouted from across the intersection. He stepped forward, arms open in greeting. He wore a tiger mask, the cat’s teeth permanently bared in a twisted snarl. Ghost tensed next to him. “So nice to finally meet the legend in person!”

“That’s the Governor,” Ghost whispered. _Shit._

“Afraid I can’t return the sentiment, your Honor,” Hongjoong mocked.

“Understandable considering you’ve fallen for our trap. It really was too easy. Guess you aren’t as good as your legend suggests.”

Hongjoong felt anger course through him at the insult. He took a threatening step forward but was quickly put back in his place. All fifty guns turned their attention solely to him, the clicking sound of them all being cocked rang through the intersection. He heard the low hum of snipers begin to heat up, a red laser pointer coming to rest directly on his chest, exactly where his heart would be. Then three more joined the first. Hongjoong didn’t back down, staying where he was. Ghost stepped forward cautiously, grabbing Hongjoong’s free hand in a silent warning.

“What do you want?” Ghost spoke up. He sounded absolutely pissed despite his calculated movements, perhaps the most emotion Hongjoong had heard from the man. Hongjoong couldn’t blame him, he was just as furious. “If you’re going to kill us, spare us this idiotic banter and get it over with.”

The Governor laughed.

“No no no, my friends are just here to look scary for now. I’d like to discuss your surrender before I start gunning people down. I am a reasonable man after all.”

Hongjoong snorted.

“You’re better off just pulling the trigger,” Hongjoong said. “I think it’s about time someone stood up to you.”

“A touching sentiment, truly,” the Governor tsked. “But I _really_ think you’re going to want to listen.”

He snapped twice and two of his agents instantly began to move. They walked over to the closest SUV that had pulled up and opened one of the back doors.

They pulled someone out of the car; they stumbled with the rough treatment, eyes wide with fear, duct tape covering his mouth as tears streamed down his face.

Hongjoong froze.

This couldn’t be happening.

There was no way.

_They know more than you think._

“Ah… so? How’s about we discuss surrender now?”

~Mingi~

Mingi could hardly believe what he was seeing. This couldn’t be happening. There was just no way. How could it be? It simply wasn’t possible. They’d been so careful…

After Hongjoong had radioed in that he and Ghost needed backup, Mingi and Yunho had immediately hopped into the Agony SUV they’d stopped and taken off down the road. They’d already apprehended the agents inside; the four of them were still tied together in the back of the car that he and Yunho had abandoned upon seeing the scene that had unfolded in the middle of this large intersection.

San and Wooyoung held Yunho back from running at the swarm of Agony agents; he yelled the entire time, practically in hysterics as he fought and begged to be let free. Mingi, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, stood frozen, completely at a loss for what to do. He wanted to freak out in the much same way Yunho was. To scream and fight and run at the bastards across from him. He wanted to comfort his hysterical boyfriend, tell him it was going to be alright, that they could figure this out and nothing bad was going to happen. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t anything.

There were about fifty highly trained agents across the intersection, all of them baring guns of different models and sizes and for sure loaded with very real and deadly bullets. Mingi couldn’t care less about those weapons; no, the cause of all this grief and utter horror was only one gun. One gun pointed at a boy only a week older than eight years old. A boy Mingi loved with his whole heart, a boy he thought of as a brother, a boy he’d raised along with Yunho for the past five years of his life, a boy that, not too long ago, had told him he was the best hyung in the whole world. Oh, how he didn’t deserve that title now.

“It seems like you all recognize this boy,” the Governor mocked, grabbing Gunho harshly by the arm and yanking him away from the agent that had originally brought him out. He pulled out a silver handgun that flashed even in the gloomy rain. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he cocked the gun and held it to the child’s head as casually as he would anyone else. Mingi, along with Hongjoong and Ghost, quickly turned their own firearms against the man at the action.

“Oooh, it seems our intel on some of your agents was correct, then,” the Governor continued. “Twilight and Utopia, or should I call them Song Mingi and Jeong Yunho? I wonder what other info we have is right about you and your pathetic organization.”

Hongjoong started to say something but his words were lost as Yunho finally ripped free from San and Wooyoung.

“Let him go, you bastard!” He shouted, pulling out his own gun and joining the other three of them. Wooyoung and San followed suit; though, they couldn’t have looked very intimidating. Six barely adults against a small army; how pathetic indeed. None of them were going to back down despite the odds, however. Not even Ghost, who had no reason to stand and die with them here, looked on with the same fierce determination that they all had, his aim unwavering.

“Afraid I can’t do that just yet, my boy,” the man said.

“I’ll kill you, I swear to God—” Yunho started again, taking another few determined steps forward into the intersection.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said, pressing the gun harder against Gunho’s head. The boy flinched, clenching his eyes shut tight and sending fresh tears cascading down his face. Mingi’s heart broke at the sight, his hurt immediately turning into rage at the action. He stepped forward to join Yunho, anger and frustration building desperately in the pit of his stomach. He hoped he didn’t do anything that would get everyone killed, but he so terribly wanted to charge the agents to get to his child. He knew that was an awful idea that would just cause everyone to lose their life, but it was starting to look more like a viable option the longer his anger was allowed to build. Hopefully, someone would hold him back. “This gun is loaded, and I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.”

“I didn’t know Agony had stooped so low as to threaten the life of a child to get what they want,” Ghost snarled. Mingi was surprised to hear the amount of venom in his voice. It almost matched the ferocity he felt building inside of him.

“Any means necessary,” the Governor said with a shrug.

“What do you want from us, then?” Hongjoong yelled over to him.

“I want your full and complete surrender to me. I’ve let your annoying group roam free for far too long,” the Governor began. “But I’m feeling generous today so I’m not just going to simply kill you all. I’ll give you a chance to go back to your pathetic lives and pretend as if you never even started your little gang… Well, some of you can go on anyway.”

“Your terms?” Hongjoong asked.

“First ATEEZ will announce their retirement to the public and admit that even they are abandoning the “poor enslaved public” as you put it in your desperate grab for attention.” The Governor continued on: “Then, you, Pirate King, along with your agents Treasure and Illusion will come to work for me to apologize for all the damage you’ve done. Ghost, wherever he’s been hiding, will come back to Agony where he will face punishment for abandoning his family. The rest of your members will go back to their original lives or else we will find them, and we will kill them. And finally, your poor excuse of a hideout must be destroyed completely.”

“Like hell we’d help you,” Wooyoung immediately retorted.

“You’re better off just killing us all,” San agreed.

The Governor sighed.

“I figured that’d be your answer right now which is why I’m giving you all three days to _really_ think it over.”

Hongjoong stayed quiet for a moment; he’d been quiet for a while. Mingi wondered what he was thinking. He couldn’t possibly be considering these terms. After all this time… to just give up? If they could just come up with a plan… If they could just get Gunho back.

“Give us the kid back and we’ll consider your terms,” Hongjoong finally decided.

“Can’t do that,” the Governor said. He had the nerve to sound like he regretted this decision, like he wasn’t the one making it in the first place. It made Mingi want to punch his lights out all the more. “How else am I supposed to guarantee that you’ll follow through with my terms?”

Mingi immediately stepped forward without a second of hesitation.

“Take me instead, then.”

The Governor laughed.

“You must be joking,” the man chuckled. “What could you possibly offer me? Stand down, son. You’re nothing without your team.”

Mingi felt a wholly unpleasant mix of anger and humiliation well up inside of him…. But those words… they rang through his head, amplified by his own self-conscious thoughts that mirrored those words a little too closely. He was right. He couldn’t even keep the people he cared about safe. He’d let Gunho get dragged into this nightmare. Yunho could’ve died the other day and there wasn’t a thing he could’ve done to stop it. He and his friends, _his family,_ were being threatened right now and there wasn’t anything he could do.

Damn it. He felt angry and frustrated tears well up in his eyes, but he wasn’t going to cry. He didn’t deserve that kind of emotion right now. Couldn’t afford to entertain self-pity at this moment.

“Then I’ll go.” It was Hongjoong’s voice that took Mingi out of his spiraling thoughts. But before the Governor could even react to what he had said, Wooyoung was shouting over everyone, using his naturally loud nature to his advantage.

“Are you insane? The team’s going to need their leader to figure out what to do,” he said, grabbing Hongjoong by the shoulder and quickly pulling him backward as he stepped forward instead. He addressed his next words to the Governor. “You’re going to take me instead and hand over the kid. I’m more valuable than an eight-year-old, don’t you think?”

“Hmm yes,” the Governor agreed. “Treasure, right? I’d say that’s more than a fair trade.”

“You can’t be serious, Woo—Treasure. You can’t do this,” San immediately began protesting, sounding as if he was either on the verge of complete rage or hysterical tears. Wooyoung turned to him, nothing but determination in his eyes. Mingi knew that look and if the way San practically deflated on the spot, he did too. Once Wooyoung had made up his mind, it was next to impossible to change it. It’s how he had weaseled his way into joining the organization back when it was just Yeosang and Hongjoong. His stubbornness to follow Yeosang wherever he may go was way too strong for anyone to argue against. He figured it would be the same with this now.

“What choice do we have? Honestly?” He asked. “I’ll be fine.”

Now that was a lie. Even Mingi knew that. All of them were well aware of how Agony treated its prisoners but as he had said, what choice did they honestly have. San backed down, eyes focused solely on the ground.

“Let go of the boy and I’ll go willingly,” Wooyoung said then, turning back to the agents standing against them.

“And if you don’t?” The Governor asked.

“You’re a smart man, I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” Wooyoung bit back.

The Governor chuckled.

“Fine.”

He released his grip on Gunho and the boy immediately bolted away from him. Running straight across the intersection and not stopping until he reached Mingi, he latched onto him desperately. Mingi knelt down quickly, carefully taking the duct tape off the boy’s mouth as Yunho joined them on the ground.

“Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Yunho asked frantically, pulling his mask down so that he could talk to his brother normally. Gunho nodded his head.

“I’m okay,” he said, his voice breaking over the words, tears still falling freely from his eyes. Mingi quickly wiped at his cheeks, taking off one of his red gloves to use as a tissue for the time being.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Yunho said, his own set of tears falling freely as he hugged his brother close.

“How touching,” the Governor mocked. “Your turn.”

Wooyoung nodded. He slowly and calmly walked across the intersection. Mingi and the rest of the team watched helplessly as their friend was seized roughly by two agents of Agony. He didn’t fight. He allowed them to manhandle him along. When the three got close to a car, a third agent stepped forward. With a swift, forceful movement, he wound back his arm and swung at Wooyoung. The butt of his handgun connected with Wooyoung’s temple and he instantly crumpled, falling unconscious in the arms of his captors.

“You son of a bitch!” San instantly shouted, fire in his eyes. He would’ve gone running head-on at the agents too if Ghost hadn’t grabbed him. “Let me go! I’ll kill him! We’ll end it right here! Bastard! I’ll kill you!”

His voice broke over his words, sounding utterly heartbroken as he watched his partner be treated in such an unforgiving way.

“Such fire!” The Governor laughed. “It almost makes me feel bad snuffing it out.”

Wooyoung’s limp body was thrown into the back of one of their cars and the rest of the agents began to file back into their vehicles as well. A car pulled up behind the Governor, door opening and waiting for him to get in.

“You fucking pigs, what’s the point of all this?!” Ghost yelled across the intersection. He sounded so angry; just like San, as if he would actually run across the clearing with his gun blazing, uncaring what the consequences of such an action would be. Mingi wondered where these emotions were coming from. He didn’t have an emotional attachment to any of their members like the rest of them did. What was the reasoning for his outrage at the scene playing before them?

“Can’t be too careful now, can we?” The Governor mocked.

“Well, it was a pleasure meeting you all and I hope you’ll consider my terms. It really would be a shame to squander such talented youth,” the man continued. He walked to his car, but he stopped right before he got in. “Oh, and before I forget, I’m going to help you out with my last condition. I know how hard it can be to destroy something you love so dearly.”

And with that, he got into his car, slammed the door shut, and all the cars began to file away in much the same way as they had appeared.

His last words, however, stayed much longer than he, ringing menacingly through all their head. They had received hit after hit today. They couldn’t handle any more surprises before someone broke down completely. They racked their brains. What was his last condition for surrender?

_And finally, your poor excuse of a hideout must be destroyed completely._

Shit.

Everyone came to the same realization at the same time. A feeling of familiar horror settled into their stomachs as they recalled a similar event from two years ago.

“Fuck,” Hongjoong swore, summing up everyone’s feelings in an instant. “Yeosang.”

~Yeosang~

Yeosang slammed his clenched fist against his desk, frustration and anger bubbling up and making his throat feel tight as he watched his monitors.

“Damn it,” he swore loudly for no one to hear. He slammed both his elbows onto the desk next, throwing his face into his hands, palms digging into his eyes as he tried to keep from breaking down completely. He hated this feeling. Helplessness. Uselessness. There was nothing he hated more. Sometimes it was a low constant, just sitting in the background while he sat at this very desk doing nothing while the team was out actually getting stuff done and putting their lives on the line. But other times, like right now, it was his dominant emotion, so strong that he felt like screaming at the top of his lungs, crying his eyes out, and curling up into a motionless ball all at the same time.

He couldn’t believe it. Did what he’d just seen actually happen? His best friend, his closest confidant, practically his brother, had just walked willingly into the arms of the enemy and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop it. He knew why he did it. Of course he understood that they couldn’t let Agony hold onto Gunho for any longer than they already had. And he knew Hongjoong couldn’t go; the team needed their leader to figure out how to recover, if they even could at all, from this crushing blow. Aside from himself and Hongjoong, Wooyoung knew the most about ATEEZ, had been with the team the longest out of the remaining members. The choice was obvious and Wooyoung had been brave enough to make it before anyone else thought of the only solution.

Yeosang wiped at his eyes, looking back to his screens just as San was crumpling to his knees in his grief. He knew San would take it the hardest aside from himself. He wondered briefly if the man had managed to confess his feelings before all this happened. They all knew how Agony dealt with interrogations. They were going to try and get every last detail and bit of information they could from Wooyoung, and they didn’t shy away from extreme tactics. He _really_ hoped this wasn’t the last time any of them saw their friend alive…

He watched the Agony cars all begin to leave the scene; he hoped his teammates got out of there soon too. The police would be showing up any minute now that Agony was leaving. Yeosang honestly didn’t know what to do. He watched his monitors absentmindedly, leaning back in his chair, his eyes heavy as he held back even more tears. He felt numb, his mind blank.

“Illusion, Agony is going to—” he heard Hongjoong’s modulated voice start talking in his ear before abruptly, there was radio silence. He caught a glimpse of the team frantically begin running to one of the stolen SUVs before… nothing. All his monitors went black in an instant. The low hum of the fans on his computers suddenly cut off, leaving him feeling unnerved. The lights above him went dark and so did the lights outside in the hallway.

Yeosang startled up straight in his chair, quickly looking around the now very dark and very quiet room, panic beginning to overtake his previous emotions. He pressed a few buttons on his keyboard, desperately hoping his computer had just idled out even though that made absolutely no sense. It was futile, nothing changed. Frantically, he pushed his chair backward, practically throwing himself under his desk as he searched his towers for the hard power button. Nothing still.

He stood back up, shaking the entire way. With the sound of his computers gone, he could hear what used to be a light drizzle turn into a full downpour battering the roof high above him. The distant rumbling of thunder snapped Yeosang back to two years ago, to memories of a very similar event, memories he’d much rather forget.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

He couldn’t breathe. He braced his hands on his desk, leaning against it heavily. His knees felt weak like he could collapse at any moment. His entire body was shaking, his artificial nervous system taking his emotions and amplifying them tenfold due to the sheer amount of terror he was overcome with.

He wished it could simply be a power outage due to the oncoming thunderstorm but that couldn’t be the case. If it had just been a power outage, then he should’ve been able to hear the rest of whatever it was Hongjoong had been trying to tell him. But he couldn’t hear anything now, no matter how he adjusted the device or what buttons he pushed. He knew it hadn’t just simply died either; Yeosang would never be that careless, especially when they’d been running a highly important mission. There was only one explanation that made any sense and that only made his dread worse.

A communications jamming device was being used somewhere nearby and by someone who knew exactly what was happening in this supposedly abandoned warehouse. Yeosang’s mind was running a mile minute, his thoughts a confusing and panicked mix of horror and dread. There were agents somewhere on the premises. As far as he knew, they could be right outside the door, watching and enjoying the torment they were putting him through. They could be lying in wait near the breaker box, ready to strike when he came to investigate the power outage. They could be anywhere. There could be only one or a whole team. There were so many things Yeosang didn’t know, so many things that could go wrong, so many things, too many and they all terrified him. He thought he’d be ready. He learned how to fight, how to handle a gun, his eyes were programmed to highlight unknown and potentially dangerous personnel. But he’d underestimated his emotional response to the situation at hand. He was utterly paralyzed, every nerve in his body felt electrified, tingling with nervous energy. His stomach was in knots, his heart trying to escape his chest. His teammates were across town, he had no way of contacting them or knowing if they were even aware of what could possibly be happening.

A shattering thunder crack echoed through the warehouse. Yeosang jumped at the noise, letting out an embarrassing yelp in his surprise as he was snapped out of his spiraling thoughts. He whipped around, looking at every possible angle of the room to make sure he was still alone. As far as he could tell, no one had managed to sneak into his computer room. He’d learned last night, after reading the entire user’s manual for his eyes twice over, how to adjust the brightness at which he saw manually but he was much too frantic at the moment to even attempt to play around with those settings. But he had to do something. He couldn’t just sit around and wait for Agony agents to show up and kill him. Despite how scared he was, he wasn’t just going to sit idly by while _his_ home was invaded. He wasn’t going down without a fight this time.

Quickly and with shaky hands, Yeosang fumbled around in the dark, feeling around his desk for the 9mm he kept on hand. Once the cold metal was in his hands, he loaded it, using mainly muscle memory due to the lack of light. It took him longer than it normally would have due to how badly his hands were actually shaking but he managed to get it together hopefully without jamming the thing.

He took a determined deep breath. He could do this. He just had to calm down, just enough to at least think logically. He could do this. He could do this.

With small hesitant steps, he left his main computer room, making sure to check the hallway before exiting. He didn’t want to run directly into a highly trained killer like he had last time. He still couldn’t see much, being in the heart of the warehouse meant no windows anywhere until he got into the main hanger area down the hall. It was only around seven o’clock, the sun was still up at this time of the year but Yeosang figured that the now raging thunderstorm outside was thoroughly blocking out whatever light could come in from those windows. His mind was still way too scattered to try and adjust his eyes manually, so his only hope was getting at the very least the lights turned back on. He could worry about everything else later but the best way to get the upper hand would be being able to see his enemies coming. Once he had that he could let the AI installed in his cybernetics take over for targeting, shooting, and apprehending the intruders. But he couldn’t do that if he couldn’t see.

He figured that the intruders hadn’t just simply turned off the breakers; they’d probably cut all the power-lines into the warehouse if they were at all intelligent. It’s what Yeosang would do anyway. He was prepared for that, however. He’d prepared for everything in case another apocalyptic situation like the last one was to occur. No one was burning this place to the ground on his watch; at least, not without making sure they actually killed him this time around. He just had to make it to the other side of the warehouse That’s where he’d hidden away his generator room. Those things could power everything in the hideout at full capacity for three days; more than enough time to find these bastards and get the power reconnected properly. He just had to get there in one piece.

Slowly and with his eyes darting every which way, he made his way down the hallway towards the hanger area. He checked every doorway he passed, constantly turned around to make sure he wasn’t being followed, took as light of steps as he could, moving silently through the place he had come to know as home. Every slight movement, real or perceived, through the darkness caused him to jump. The silence around him was deafening, the steady drumming of the rain hitting the roof above him was the only noise as he moved so every breath he took felt like it echoed down the whole hall, his heart pounding in his ears. Every gust of wind, every crack of thunder, every drip of water that cut through the silence and the steady sound of rain only added to his uneasiness. He held his gun out in front of him with both hands to steady his shaking. He wasn’t very successful, his body practically humming with anxiousness. But he continued forward despite the horror he felt tingling under every inch of his skin, despite the uneasiness that ran up his spine with every step he took.

By the time he reached the very end of the hallway, his nerves had doubled in size. Every doorframe empty, every dark corner cleared only meant that he was one step closer to finding his enemies or perhaps his enemies finding him. They had to know that the ever-elusive Illusion would obviously be hiding at ATEEZ’s headquarters; they had to be ready for him and his tech. Why else would they shut off the power and jam communications? No, they were here somewhere and were looking for him without a doubt. What they hopefully weren’t expecting was for him to be prepared and able to fight. No matter how scared out of his mind he was, he was still ready to face this threat head-on. He wasn’t going to let all those nights Jongho had spent teaching him how to fight go to waste. He gripped his gun tighter, taking a deep breath and holding it in. Then, before he could back out, he stepped swiftly into the hanger area. He checked right first, gun outstretched and ready to fire just as Jongho had taught him. Nothing. He breathed out. He turned quickly, pivoting on his feet one hundred and eighty degrees as he surveyed the large open room.

Lightning flashed across the windows high above him, sending shadows all over the large room for only an instant. Yeosang’s blood turned cold as he saw it, the outline of another human being thrown across the floor next to his own. He shook away the instinct to freeze up, give in to his fear and accept death as an inevitability. Instead, he whipped back around, sucking in another deep breath as the owner of the extra shadow came into his field of vision. He held out the gun, finger poised on the trigger; his knees were shaking. He could hardly keep his hands steady. He held his breath to stop himself from shrieking pathetically in fear. He could do this. He could do this. He could—

“Hyung? Woah, Woah, it’s me! It’s me!”

Relief washed through him faster than he could let the air out of his lungs. He knew that voice. He’d recognize it anywhere. Oh, the number of emotions hearing that voice could cause him to feel in an instant but right now, it was pure relief and utter happiness that bubbled up into his throat. He dropped his gun and rushed forward, throwing himself into strong arms, staggering their owner a bit with the force of it.

“Jongho,” he said, voice breaking over his name as he felt relieved tears build up in his eyes. “I’m so glad to see you. I was so… I was so sca—”

He choked on the words, tightening his arms around Jongho’s neck as he buried his face in the man’s chest.

“Yeosang…” Jongho cooed quietly, letting Yeosang do as he pleased and wrapping his arms around Yeosang in turn. “What’s going on? Why are the lights out? Are the earpieces down? Why… Why are you shaking?”

Yeosang shook his head against Jongho’s chest. He took a stuttering breath before pulling his face away from the sturdy comfort of Jongho’s chest. He looked up into the man’s concerned eyes, the only thing he could make out clearly in the darkness. His chest brimmed with warmth.

“I’m just so glad you’re here,” Yeosang told him.

“Sangie… What’s going on?” Jongho asked, wiping at the tears falling freely down Yeosang’s face now. An emotion he was afraid to name bubbled up from his stomach, making his throat tight. But he didn’t have time to think about it. They were in a delicate situation.

“There are agents in the hideout,” Yeosang began quickly. “They cut the power and are using some sort of jamming device to cut off our communications to the rest of the team.”

“How did they find us?” Jongho asked, beginning to look as frantic as Yeosang had felt moments before. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they? We’ve gotta find them, we gotta—”

“Jongho, for the love of God, stop,” Yeosang teased. He grabbed either side of the man’s face with both hands, forcing him to look at him.

“It’s okay, I’m fine. Now that you’re here anyway,” he admitted. Jongho’s eyes shifted away from him uncomfortably. He cleared his throat.

“That’s—That’s good. I’m glad… I’m glad you’re okay,” Jongho managed.

“Now, we need to get the lights back on. We’ve just gotta get to the generator room and then my security systems can rain hell upon these agents,” Yeosang instructed. Jongho nodded in understanding.

“Alright, let’s get to it, then,” he said, letting go of Yeosang as he unclipped the gun strapped to his hip. Yeosang bent down, picking up his own firearm that he had dropped in favor of clinging to Jongho. They both turned to the large, open room they stood at the edge of, looking through the darkness for any sort of movement, any hint that there was something sinister nearby. The darkness shared none of its secrets.

Jongho cleared his throat again, taking a small step forward and in front of Yeosang.

“Just uhh… Stay behind me in case we run into them on the way there.”

Yeosang didn’t even bother arguing or asking the obvious: “What if they come from any other direction?” He appreciated the gesture, regardless.

Then slowly but surely, they continued onward to carry out Yeosang’s plan. They took small, light steps, ready to break out into a run if the situation required it. Their guns were pointed at the ground as they went but at a moment’s notice, they could be pointed directly at their target. Yeosang followed behind Jongho closely, grateful to have another friendly presence amongst the darkness. He was still more scared than he had been in a while but with Jongho in front of him, silently promising to protect him against the odds, he was significantly less panicked and shaky.

They managed to make it across the hanger with no sign of any intruders. He didn’t get his hopes up, however. There _was_ someone here. Whether it was only one or a team, he and Jongho were going to stop them from destroying their home. Agony had already taken so much from them today, they couldn’t lose this place too. Yeosang may have been scared out of his mind but he was also completely determined. And if the way Jongho moved without hesitation was anything to go by, he was just as determined if not more so.

They reached the other end of the hanger area after a few silent minutes. Standing at the top of the staircase that would lead them down into the basement of their hideout, they both hesitated. There would be absolutely no light down there. No way out besides this staircase once they were at the bottom. The way down was shrouded in darkness, neither of them could make out anything past only a few stairs. Logically, Yeosang knew that the basement was the least threatening section of the whole warehouse. That’s where they kept their emergency living situations; they’d all slept down there just last night. But right now, in the all-consuming darkness and the uneasy silence, even the most logical side of Yeosang’s brain was terrified to go down those steps.

With a deep breath of his own that Yeosang could see in the way his shoulders heaved, Jongho began the descent, one careful step at a time. Yeosang diligently followed after him despite every fiber of his being screaming against it. This is where Yeosang would lie in wait if he were an infiltration agent. Completely dark, only one exit, a maze of hallways and rooms that would be easy to get mixed up in the dark.

“Can you see in the dark?” Jongho asked him quietly, voice barely above a whisper as they slowly continued down.

“Yeah, let me try,” Yeosang responded, almost having forgotten about that little feature. He might be able to pull it off now. He was calmer, his mind no longer racing a mile a minute now that he had Jongho with him. He could do this. Remembering what the user manual had said, Yeosang turned all his focus to his eyes. A little, translucent green menu appeared in his field of vision, exactly what he wanted. Doing his best to not lose track of what he was doing, he navigated through the menus, using his eyes as a cursor. He managed to find what he was looking for as the two of them reached the bottom of the staircase, turning on what was effectively night vision, giving everything a green hue.

That’s when he saw it. Just a flicker of movement, to their left. He hardly even got a word out of his mouth before Jongho was pulling him behind his body and standing protectively between him and the agent.

“Jongho, wha—?” Yeosang started to ask but was quickly cut off. Jongho lunged himself forward, meeting the intruder head-on. Yeosang watched in petrified awe as a man almost twice Jongho’s size emerged from the doorway off to the side that he’d used to lie in wait. Though the Agony agent had been trying to get the jump on them, he ended up being taken by surprise as Jongho rushed him. He grabbed the man around the waist, stopping him from getting to any of the weapons attached to his belt. The Agony agent lashed out in retaliation, one good blow with his knee against Jongho’s stomach and he was free. Jongho didn’t back off, only went back in, arm wound back expertly and ready to strike.

“Yeosang! Go, run ahead! I’ll hold this one off!” Jongho instructed, his voice full of authority and confidence he had never heard from the younger before. And Yeosang so desperately wanted to listen to him, to take off sprinting down the hallway and turn on the generators before any of the other intruders managed to join their friend here and Jongho got seriously injured. But he couldn’t. He was frozen in place, watching completely mortified. The white, snarling dog mask that all lower-leveled agents of Agony wore, and the same mask that had left him a shaken, crying mess in the middle of many a lonely night, shone brightly with the way his eyes were filtered. The agent fought with ferocity, uncaring of where his blows landed just that they hit something. Jongho moved with speed and grace, more so on the defensive than the offensive, avoiding most of what the other man was trying to do in order to buy Yeosang some time to escape.

“Go!” Jongho shouted again, just barely avoiding what would’ve been a devastating blow to his head. That snapped Yeosang out of his paralyzed fear, but he still wasn’t going to listen to what he’d been told to do. Instead, he raced forward, towards the hand-to-hand fight in front of him. He’d sat and watched and did nothing as one of his friends was taken away from him, he wasn’t going to let another one go in potentially a much more permanent way. Especially not Jongho; Jongho who had done so much for him; Jongho who had always been there for him even when Yeosang hadn’t even asked. It was long overdue that he started returning the favor.

His grip tightened on the gun in his hand. He could do this. He could be useful. No one else had to get hurt today. Well… No one besides these fucking Agony agents that had the gall to try and fuck with him a second time. He loaded the gun with a series of clicks as he rushed forward. ATEEZ had a very strict rule about killing; meaning that under no circumstances was it allowed to take a life. But fighting strictly hand-to-hand when the enemy had no such reserves about murder was downright moronic and just asking for failure. So they too carried around guns, but instead of lethal bullets, their guns were loaded with the aptly named stick-n-shock rounds that had grown increasingly popular among law enforcement. Instead of piercing skin, these bullets would stick to the first surface it came in contact with and, as their name suggested, elicit a debilitating electric shock. Much like a taser, though multiple shots could be fired in succession with more accuracy, made for incredibly effective neutralizers. So Yeosang had no qualms with running right up to the fight. Jongho must’ve noticed him approach in his peripherals because he grabbed onto the agent and threw him back as hard as he could manage. The agent stumbled, clearly taken aback by Jongho’s sudden change in tactics. He was even more startled to find Yeosang now standing in front of him, gun pressed directly to the middle of his stomach. Yeosang didn’t hesitate, letting all his rage and frustration pour out into his actions as he pulled the trigger twice. It was impossible to miss, the bullets glowing a faint blue in the darkness with the electricity they carried. The agent immediately seized, grunting in pain as hundreds of thousands of volts coursed through his body. Then he collapsed to the ground, crumpling unconscious in a heap of heavy limbs.

Yeosang still held the gun in place, eyes wide with the realization that he had actually just shot someone. For all the practicing he had done, it was nothing like the real thing. He didn’t even want to think about what using real bullets would be like, he felt guilt well up in his throat just thinking about it. He was glad he’d never have to face that kind of consequence.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Jongho told him quietly, a soothing hand coming up to gently push the gun down. Yeosang relaxed into the touch, allowing himself to be pulled closer to the younger, enjoying the comfort he felt being in his embrace. “You’re okay.”

Yeosang nodded in agreement, swallowing thickly.

“We should tie him up,” Yeosang whispered. Jongho let go of him slowly. Moving swiftly, Yeosang went through the same door the Agony agent had been using to hide. It was Wooyoung’s temporary bedroom, Yeosang felt a wave of sadness rush through him remembering Wooyoung but he didn’t have time to dwell on bitter thoughts. He went over to the small dresser and pulled out a necktie he knew Wooyoung had never once worn… at least not publicly anyway. He didn’t want to even consider why such an article of clothing existed in this space at all. Then, he returned to the hallway, finding that Jongho had removed all the man’s weapons from his person while he was gone. He handed the tie off to Jongho, moving to keep watch of the still very dark and very threatening hallway they stood in the middle of. Jongho quickly bound the man’s hands together tightly with an expertly made knot and then used the agent’s own shoelaces from his boots to bind his legs together in a similar fashion.

Jongho turned to face him once he was finished.

“Come on, let’s go quickly before any others make an appearance.”

“Is it okay to just leave him here?” Yeosang asked. He hated how small and shaky his voice sounded. You could practically hear the tears that threatened to spill at any moment. He hated it. Why couldn’t he be braver? Jongho was so calm, so collected. The man hadn’t even hesitated to throw himself at danger to protect him and here he was, about to cry from a mixture of fear and the horror that came with actually shooting a living, breathing target.

“Yeah, he won’t be getting up anytime soon. Fifty thousand volts at ten milliamps will do that to a person,” Jongho told him.

Yeosang nodded even though he was sure Jongho couldn’t see all that well. He sniffled, the sound echoing louder than he had meant in the silence as he used his shirt sleeve to wipe at his traitorous eyes.

“You… You did great, by the way,” Jongho said, his voice going quieter as he spoke. He stepped closer, carefully reaching out for Yeosang once again. His gentle hands wiped carefully at his eyes, the two of them mere inches apart so that Jongho could see him. But Yeosang could see clearly with his specialized eyes. He looked up a short distance into the man’s concerned eyes. He wasn’t wearing his face mask, probably haven forgotten it in all the panic and confusion the same as Yeosang, so his expression was on full display. “That was your first time shooting someone, right?”

Yeosang nodded again, unable to stop another sniffle from escaping him. They didn’t have time for this. Jongho shouldn’t have to comfort him. The longer they stood there in the middle of the hallway, the more likely it was the other agents lying in wait would find them. Yeosang’s gun hadn’t been silenced; anyone in the warehouse would’ve heard the discharges. Surely, the other agents, if there were any more, would come to investigate.

“It’s okay, you did what you had to,” Jongho whispered, wrapping his arms around his waist now that all the tears were gone. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against Yeosang’s. Yeosang closed his eyes, embarrassed by how intimate this felt. He took a deep breath, silently clearing his throat so that his words didn’t sound so broken.

“I know, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

“Don’t apologize,” Jongho laughed quietly. How he was able to feel joy despite the situation was lost on Yeosang. “I appreciate it. You’re amazing, hyung.”

Yeosang’s breath caught in his throat at the compliment, especially as Jongho’s breath ghosted across his lips. He must’ve moved closer still. He didn’t dare open his eyes to find out, too afraid that he would ruin the moment and break whatever this strange tension between the two of them was. It finally clicked in his head, just in time too, when he felt lips touch his own. He wasn’t sure who it was that had moved that last few inches, but he was positive it didn’t matter. They’ve always gravitated towards each other, Yeosang had just never understood why it was exactly they did. Was this the reason? Was this the reason Jongho couldn’t hold eye contact for longer than two seconds, why he turned into a rambling mess when Yeosang so much as looked in his direction, why he was so willing to spend every waking moment at the warehouse doing nothing just to stay by Yeosang’s side? Was this why, in turn, Yeosang’s chest felt tight whenever Jongho smiled at him, why he felt guilty whenever Jongho diligently looked over him while he did next to nothing in return, why, on a good day, his heart soared when he saw that Jongho was on his way to the warehouse just to spend time with him? He decided it had to be. What other explanation was there for what was happening now?

Both of them were too shocked to move at first, both frozen in place as they realized that this was actually happening. Yeosang didn’t dare open his eyes as Jongho tensed up in front of him so hard he could actually feel it without actually touching him anywhere but his lips. Yeosang was the first to give in, to realize that: yes, they were allowed to do this, that he was on board with what was happening, and that this could very well be their only chance to explore this area of their relationship. He figured he’d have to be the one to press forward in this situation, he could practically hear the panic going on in Jongho’s head. He let out the breath that had caught in his throat through his nose, relaxing into Jongho’s arms that much more and wrapping his arms around the man’s neck in return. He pressed his lips more confidently against Jongho’s, even going as far as to part them slightly, inviting Jongho to continue if he ever got over whatever mental breakdown was probably going through his head. Jongho gasped against his lips, Yeosang couldn’t hold back his smile. He pulled back slightly, just enough to whisper against the younger’s lips.

“Kiss me.”

That got him going, seemingly snapping Jongho back into reality. The man surged back forward, returning Yeosang’s kiss this time around. His arms tightened around his back, pulling him impossibly closer to him, not a fraction of space left between their bodies. The looming threat of death made them press on that much further. Without that possibility, this probably wouldn’t have even happened in the first place. Yeosang’s head felt fuzzy, all his anxiety and desperation pouring out into their kiss. Neither of them quite knew what to do, only what felt right. Yeosang decided they had a lot to talk about if they made it out of this alive because, decided that now he had a taste of what this could be, he wanted so much more, and he wasn’t going to give any of it up.

Jongho titled his head suddenly, their noses brushing gently in the action as he deepened their kiss that much more. Yeosang sighed at the feeling of the man’s tongue against his lips but neither pressed for more.

Jongho was the first to pull away this time around, panting quietly into the small space between them, his forehead once again pressed heavily against Yeosang’s.

“Wow,” Yeosang breathed out. His head was still spinning. He didn’t have too much experience to compare it to, but he was certain this is what people meant when they said “fireworks”. He didn’t exactly see them, but his heart surely felt like one. Whether that was because of the fear from the volatile situation they were in, or from the exhilarating way Jongho had kissed him like he was the water he so desperately needed to survive in the desert, he wasn’t sure.

“Yeosang, I—”

Whatever he was going to say next was drowned out suddenly. The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs above snapped both of them out of this heated and desperate moment. _Shit._ There _were_ more agents in the hideout, and quite a bit more if the sound of footsteps were to be believed. Jongho and Yeosang shared a look before they bolted apart and began a full sprint down the hallway. They could discuss whatever had just happened when their lives weren’t on the line; Yeosang desperately wanted to know what it was Jongho had been about to tell him. He hoped it was to express his want to pursue more of that…

The sound of echoing gunshots and the explosion of dust as a bullet hit the wall next to him as he ran took him the rest of the way out of his dazed thoughts about Jongho. Yeosang chanced a glance backward right before they turned the corner to the left. One, two, three, four. He counted four more agents now emerging from wherever they’d been hiding above ground in the warehouse. Shit, they were wholly outnumbered and outmatched. The agents’ white masks probably had night vision built into them, allowing them to see through the darkness. Jongho, on the other hand, had no such capabilities. Coming to this realization, Yeosang grabbed his hand, picking up his pace to lead him through the maze of hallways just as they made another turn down a new hallway. He knew where he was going and he was sure Jongho could navigate it himself without being able to see but he wanted to be sure, and the added comfort of touching a friendly presence made his thoughts less panicked.

Jongho held onto his hand with a firm grip, allowing Yeosang to pull him along through the dark labyrinth-like basement. Gunshots echoed down the hallway, heavy footsteps pounded around them. Yeosang tried his best not to panic. He concentrated on running down the various hallways to his ultimate goal. He had no hope of losing the agents trailing them; they were far too close already and there was no way he’d ever be able to run fast enough to put distance between them. His throat was already burning, his legs were screaming at him in overexertion; he was running on adrenaline alone at this point. If not for him, Jongho could probably outrun these agents while hardly even breaking a sweat. But because of the darkness and Yeosang’s severe lack of stamina, they were at yet another disadvantage. Despite the odds and the crushing realization that he, himself, could be the cause of both their early deaths, Yeosang was filled with the determination to persevere. They just had to make it a bit further. Just to the end of this hallway and then hopefully they could fend off the agents long enough to get the security systems online. They’d lost too much today already. Yeosang couldn’t bear to lose Jongho too, or the hideout that he had poured so much time and effort into over the past two years to make it the home it was today. They could do this. They could pull through. Agony wasn’t going to win every battle they had started today. Not on Yeosang’s watch.

They raced down the last few feet of the hallway, neither of them slowing as they passed through the doorway of the generator room. Yeosang let go of Jongho’s hand once they reached the back of the room. Jongho skidded to a halt towards the middle, turning around with his gun outstretched in front of him, standing strong. Yeosang didn’t hesitate, throwing himself to the ground and sliding across the floor the rest of the way to the main terminal. His hands flew across the cover shielding the control panel from the elements; his eye’s AI instantly recognized the layout before him and began highlighting the components Yeosang would need to get these things online. He took a deep breath; it came out shaky just like his hands despite how hard he tried to keep them steady, his body humming from the adrenaline coursing through his veins and the anxiety amplified through every nerve of his body. He was back in his element now. Guns, fighting, running were never his strong suits; that’s why he had Jongho. But technology… Technology he knew. He just hoped he could be fast enough while Jongho held off the agents now following them into the large boiler room of the warehouse.

“How long do you need?” Jongho asked as he waited for their adversaries to make the first move on him.

“Five minutes, max,” Yeosang estimated, his fingers, deft and well-practiced, flying across various wires to arrange them in the proper order.

“Give me your gun,” Jongho said, his tone steady, calm, and commanding. Yeosang threw the handgun in Jongho’s direction before going right back to work. Jongho caught the gun with his right hand, holding it right next to the one already in his left. Then, without another word, he opened fire on the four agents just making it into the room. The agents instantly ducked safely behind the various large mechanisms within the room. One wasn’t fast enough. He was hit by the electrified rounds of Jongho’s guns. Blue light lit up the room as the bullets administered their electricity to whatever they had hit. The fourth agent convulsed on the ground from the shock before lying still like his fallen comrade back at the entrance to the basement.

Jongho fired off five rounds between both guns, aiming to only cause the agents to scatter rather than to actually take any more of them out. The five bullets also proved to be a good source of light, sticking to any available surface and glowing a bright blue amidst the darkness. With the added light, Jongho was on the move, firing occasionally to keep the agents from firing back at him. He went after the one that had escaped to the right side of the doorway first since he was all alone on that side of the room. Yeosang heard rather than saw that agent go down; two gunshots and a definitive thud as another body crumpled to the ground.

Then, moving back out into the open, he was ready to go after the last two agents. The other two had gotten over their initial confusion, however, and there was no longer any light so Jongho was again on the defensive. The last two stepped out of their hiding spots, guns brandished and aimed right at Jongho. Four consecutive shots echoed through the room. One grazed his right arm, but Jongho didn’t give any indication of pain. Instead, he quickly ducked behind one of the towering generators, waiting for the agents to finish unloading their clips. The second the gunfire stopped, Jongho was back into the fray, not wasting a single second on hesitation. He raced around the large machinery, both guns aimed and ready to fire. Two shots and he ducked behind another generator for safety as a third agent was caught by his expert aim. Jongho visibly took a deep breath, dropping his now presumably empty firearms to the ground. He didn’t have time to fumble around in the dark to reload one of them so instead, he discarded them entirely. Then, without a second thought, he rushed out from behind his hiding spot and charged straight for the last standing agent. He didn’t hold back, coming for him with such ferocity, such controlled strength that the man barely had enough time to process what was happening before Jongho was right in front of him and by then it was entirely too late. A swift knee to the stomach. An uppercut to the chin. A left swing to the temple. The Agony agent really didn’t stand a chance against Jongho’s unparalleled strength. He fell to the ground right alongside his electrified partners, just as Yeosang tied off the last of the wiring and flipped the generators on.

The large machinery kicked into life, a loud and steady humming beginning to fill what used to be complete silence. The lights above them flickered alight with a dull yellow glow. Yeosang readjusted his eyesight to the new situation as he got the notification that his computers were booting back up right alongside the notification that his security systems were back online. He got a third pop up alerting him to five unauthorized presences on the premises as well but that the threat had been neutralized. He rolled his eyes, better late than never he supposed. At least they knew they got them all.

Yeosang stood up on shaky legs, beginning to come down from his adrenaline high. He didn’t even think of where he was going, he just allowed his legs to lead him on autopilot straight to Jongho. The man stood breathing heavily in the middle of the room, looking ready to pounce at the first sight of movement, blood dripping through his fingertips from where a bullet had caught his arm. Yeosang wasn’t scared. He had never felt safer. He didn’t hesitate, latching onto the man tightly for the third time that night. Jongho reacted immediately this time around, too, grabbing onto Yeosang as if his life depended on it.

“We did it,” Yeosang mumbled into the man’s shoulder where he had buried his face.

“I was on time this time,” Jongho agreed, his voice barely a whisper Yeosang laughed at that one.

“You were on time the last time, too,” he argued back.

Jongho pulled away from him, just enough to be able to see his face clearly. Yeosang was taken aback by the sheer amount of unfiltered affection he saw in the man’s face. Had Jongho always looked at him like this?

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he mumbled. Yeosang cleared his throat uncomfortably but forced himself to return Jongho’s gaze, regardless.

“Thank you for coming back for me,” Yeosang said quietly.

“Always, hyung,” he said, pulling him close once more with no sign of letting go anytime soon. “Always.”

~Wooyoung~

Wooyoung’s chair clattered loudly against the linoleum floor as a swift punch to the right side of his face sent him flying. Wooyoung couldn’t stop his fall, his limbs heavy and his mind clouded from the drugs they had given him. He laid sprawled across the floor; the cold felt nice against his bruising face and limbs so he stayed where he was, enjoying the small comfort while he could.

“I’m not going to ask you again, brat, who is your leader?” One of the masked Agony agents conducting his interrogation practically snarled. He brought a booted foot up to his arm, stepping down harshly, trying to break Wooyoung more than he had already tried before. Wooyoung didn’t make a sound in response, his pain tolerance having long been incredibly high. You couldn’t be in his line of work without knowing how to handle painful situations. What a joke, he thought to himself. Weren’t these interrogations supposed to be the most brutal, the most extreme in the country? Sure, Wooyoung was uncharacteristically good at holding his tongue when it came to protecting the people he loved but he had been expecting more of a challenge. In the what, two… three hours they’d been at this, never once had Wooyoung felt even remotely close to his breaking point. Even now as he laid on the ground, bruised and battered and completely jacked up on what Agony called a “truth serum” to make him more susceptible to suggestion—of which, he was almost completely immune, having long built up a tolerance years ago when he first started—he still felt no desire to sell out his friends to make it all stop. They’d kill him before they got anything out of him, and he was one hundred percent prepared for it.

It was almost laughable how poorly these so-called interrogators were doing. So Wooyoung laughed. The truth serum drugs made his mind fuzzy and all his usual—albeit poor to begin with—inhibitions that stopped him from being an insufferable annoyance were gone in this state. So he laughed, unstoppable and all-consuming laughter filled the cell. It echoed through the small room, high-pitched and mocking, as he laid motionless on the floor where he’d fallen.

“What the fuck are you laughing at?” The interrogator spat, stepping down harder on Wooyoung’s arm. He felt a searing crack go up his arm. Yep, that was broken. He kept on laughing despite the pain. He was never going to give in.

“Who is my leader? As if you don’t already know that,” Wooyoung said around his laughter. “What? Is this your first day? Do you need me to walk you through this process?”

Wooyoung could practically feel the anger coming off the agent at his words. The man stepped off his arm in favor of grabbing his jacket collar and pulling him off the ground. He slammed him against the back wall of the room, getting all up in his face. Though, Wooyoung was even less intimidated than he was before. Maybe it was because the man’s mask dulled whatever rage might be on his face. His laughter faded to a barely contained giggle, though he could break out into full laughter again at any moment.

“Listen here, you little shit—”

Wooyoung’s mood shifted very quickly at his further attempts at poor intimidation.

“No, you listen here, you little shit,” he mocked, his voice taking on a much more serious tone than what he thought possible in this state. “You can keep trying to get information out of me but it’s not going to work. But why do you even need information from me? Your dear leader already let it slip that y’all already know everything about us.”

A thought suddenly struck Wooyoung. His eyes went wide as a new, shit-eating grin took over his face.

“Unless you don’t,” Wooyoung continued. “You don’t know everything about us, do you? Do you even know my real name?”

“Stop talking,” the man hissed, slamming Wooyoung roughly against the wall once more. Of course, Wooyoung wasn’t going to listen, however.

“Say it,” he whispered through the pain. “Say my name and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“You fu—”

“Say it!” Wooyoung shouted, his laughter loud once more as he continued on: “Tell me my name! Say my name!”

“Shut up!” The interrogator roared, grabbing him harshly and throwing him to the floor once more. Wooyoung’s mind was too slow to react and he knocked his face into the ground before he could catch himself. He felt blood begin pouring from his nose as his vision swam with black edging around its corners. But the agent didn’t give him a chance to recover this time. He was on him in an instant, delivering devastating kicks to his lower abdomen unrelenting. Wooyoung still didn’t make a sound, not wanting to give this man the satisfaction despite how much pain he was now in. His face throbbed, not only from his fall but from previous punches as well. Every kick sent a shockwave through his already battered body, pain overtaking every nerve in his body. He curled in on himself, trying to give his attacker less access to vital areas but it did little to dull his agony.

“Don’t you think you should stop before you kill him. The Governor wants him alive,” a calm voice cut through the other man’s rage. Wooyoung had almost forgotten there were two other onlookers to this interrogation. A second Agony agent stood leaning against the bars to the interrogation cell, watching the whole process from the outside. This was the first thing he had said since the start of it. There was a third agent as well, but she was only there to administer the truth serum when told. The calm one wore a boar mask, different from the other two’s dog ones.

The interrogator stopped his assault, albeit reluctantly. Wooyoung rolled over onto his back, spitting out a glob of blood that had collected in his mouth and holding back a pained groan that threatened to spill from his mouth. He chuckled instead.

“My offer still stands,” he said, his voice sounding shaky and hoarse. “I’ll even give you three guesses because I’m a generous guy.”

The man didn’t even bother responding.

“Give him two more shots of the serum,” he ordered, completely ignoring Wooyoung as he exited the cell.

“Sir?” The woman spoke up.

“What?” He snarled.

“I-if we give him any more, he could go into cardiac arrest, have a stroke, or start seizing,” she explained. “It’s a miracle nothing has happened already.”

_How fun._

“I don’t care, do as I say, or I’ll give it to you instead.”

The woman jumped into action at his harsh words. Well, this was probably it for him. He figured it would be and he was willing to die to make sure his family was safe, make sure his friends were safe… to make sure San was safe. His only regret was not telling his partner just how much he loved him before giving himself over. He hoped Yeosang would do it for him when he turned up dead. He closed his eyes, picturing that lovely dimpled smile one last time before—

A loud bang echoed into his cell from the hallway; Wooyoung’s eyes snapped open in an instant just in time to see the door at the end of the hallway come flying open. Heavy, angry footsteps pounded down the hall as all three agents turned their attention to the newcomer. It took Wooyoung a moment to understand what was happening and the agents with him were just as confused. Storming down towards the agents, giving off an aura that just screamed he would punch the first thing that so much as looked at him the wrong way, was none other than Park Seonghwa. Wooyoung would recognize that platinum blond hair anywhere. He was wearing the standard Agony uniform, tight black clothes that hugged his body, and a white, intricately sculpted dragon mask but Wooyoung knew exactly who he was. He ripped the mask off as he approached, confirming Wooyoung’s intuition; his face was contorted into a look of absolute rage. So even someone like him was capable of such an emotion.

“What are you—” one of the agent’s started to ask as Seonghwa stormed up to them. Seonghwa was quick to cut him off.

“Shut up,” he snapped, voice laced with anger. “Who the fuck gave you permission to kidnap a child? Are we really so desperate that we’ve stooped lower than ever before?”

His words were directed at the one agent wearing the boar mask. He must’ve been a higher ranking official than the ones wearing dog masks. Wooyoung was only vaguely aware of how the hierarchy of Agony agents was shown through the masks they wore, having tuned Yeosang out every time he went over it with them. He knew the highest-ranking official, the Governor, wore a tiger mask. The next highest was the dragon masks, probably reserved for the Governor’s sons which would explain why Seonghwa had one such mask. After that, Wooyoung was pretty sure it used to be the fox masks but ever since that became Ghost’s signature look, those agents had ceased to exist. He really wasn’t sure where any other animal fell into that hierarchy, but he knew that the dog was the lowest one could be. He figured that if Seonghwa was asking the man with the boar mask about the logistics of what had just transpired on the intersection of Central and First street then he had to be relatively high up.

The man in question pushed himself off Wooyoung’s cell’s bars and turned to face the fuming Seonghwa, crossing his arms nonchalantly. Seonghwa’s eyebrow twitched in irritation at the disrespectful demeanor the man was giving off but no one but Wooyoung seemed to notice.

“If it isn’t one of the young masters, himself. Why have you come storming in here demanding answers when you could just ask your daddy?” The man mocked.

“He’s busy and seeing as you were one of the brains behind that little scheme, I figured you’d have the answers I’m looking for,” Seonghwa said, speaking slowly as if to a child. “I don’t have time for your shit so either you tell me what I want to know or so help me god—”

Seonghwa slammed a fist hard against the metal bars next to him with a completely unexpected amount of force; a loud bang echoed through the hallway as the bars shook in their sockets. If Wooyoung’s attention hadn’t been grabbed before, it certainly would’ve been by this point.

“You’ll wish you were dead by the time I’m through with you.”

The dog-masked interrogator stepped forward, clearly not happy with the threats Seonghwa was throwing around.

“Fucking… We don’t have time for this nonsense. Find someone else to bother. We all know you can’t do anything, pretty boy,” the agent said, anger and spite matching Seonghwa’s head-on as he lunged towards him.

Wooyoung wasn’t entirely sure what the agent had been trying to accomplish but he didn’t get far at all. Seonghwa moved with such speed, Wooyoung hardly realized what was happening before a gun was pulled from Seonghwa’s hip and it was being fired off. One shot to the interrogator’s shin and he was going down. Wooyoung recognized the blue light the bullet gave off; odd, he didn’t think Agony agents even bothered with stick-n-shock rounds. Seonghwa was on the man even quicker than he had pulled the gun. As the interrogator doubled over in pain from the bullet, Seonghwa got up close, grabbed the man, and kneed him against the jaw for good measure. The agent crumpled to the ground unconscious.

“You fucking—” The boar-masked agent began, now also rushing at Seonghwa. Quickly, Seonghwa holstered his gun. He waited till a split second before the agent would connect with him. Then, he stepped to the side, grabbing the man by the back of the neck and his wrist before he then, using his own momentum, forced the man up against the wall, his left arm twisted at a dangerous angle behind him, cheek pressed against the metal wall.

“Do you know why you’ve never heard of my exploits for this organization?” Seonghwa began, voice dangerous and low. Wooyoung wondered how this man and the shy, awkward mess he had met before was the same person. Seonghwa pressed the man harder against the wall as he asked again: “Do you?”

The man didn’t say anything so Seonghwa continued.

“It’s because I’m _so_ good at my job that I don’t leave a trace. The jobs I do are too high a priority for someone of your standing to even understand let alone know about. Where do you think all the fox agents disappeared to after Ghost sullied our name? Who do you think took care of all that, hm? It’s like they never even existed at all. So where do you think that leaves you, hm?” Seonghwa threatened. “You’re going to answer my questions now or else I break your arm. If you resist further… well, let’s say no one will ever know that _you_ ever existed in the first place, understand?”

“Yes sir,” the man grumbled. Wooyoung held back more laughter. Now that’s how you got someone to cooperate with you. Too bad his interrogator was passed out cold on the ground and couldn’t take notes.

“Fantastic,” Seonghwa agreed. He didn’t loosen his grip in the slightest as he continued. “Who authorized this kidnapping?”

“Your father,” the man said. “It was his idea.”

“Why was that never updated in the file on the computer?”

“The Governor didn’t want to risk a data breach. It was discovered that a lot of files on our databases had been corrupted by spyware. Sensitive information had been removed without a trace.”

“Who’s spyware?” Seonghwa asked. “Illusion’s?”

“No, no one from ATEEZ,” the man explained. “It looked like an internal job.”

“Ghost?”

“It’s possible, or we’ve got a spy in our ranks. A rather high ranking one too since they didn’t have to hack in to gain access to highly classified documents.”

“So that gives us the right to kidnap a child?” Seonghwa snarled, pressing and twisting harder.

“Hey, hey, hey! It wasn’t my idea! I was just following orders. Those ATEEZ bastards needed to be knocked down a few pegs. We just wanted the child to trade for someone better. We were never going to kill the kid.”

“Trade for someone better?” Seonghwa asked.

“Treasure, ATEEZ’s face. See for yourself.”

Seonghwa turned his head around without letting go of the agent in his grasp.

“Hey, how’s it going,” Wooyoung said hoarsely, giving the best salute he could with how heavy and broken his limbs were. He wondered if Seonghwa would recognize him. When his gaze fell upon Wooyoung and the absolutely miserable state he was in, his face contorted into an expression angrier than before.

“Were you interrogating him or trying to kill him?” Seonghwa snarled.

He didn’t wait for a response this time. He pulled the man in his grasp back away from the wall before then slamming his head back against it hard. The agent crumpled to the floor along with the first agent. Seonghwa took a deep breath, probably trying to reign in his anger.

“You,” he turned to the third agent, the one who had been in charge of the truth serum. The woman jumped at being addressed so suddenly, visibly terrified by what was happening in front of her.

“Yes, sir?” She asked, voice shaking.

“How many injects has he had?” He asked, voice noticeably softer than before at seeing how scared the woman was of him.

“Four, sir,” she answered quickly.

“Four?” Seonghwa asked. He rubbed at his forehead.

“Yes, sir. I tried to explain to them, sir, that he’d built up a tolerance to the drug and it wasn’t going to work but they didn’t listen to me,” the woman explained quickly. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“It’s alright. Not your fault,” Seonghwa said softly. “Get someone to take care of his wounds and clean him up. Make sure he gets food and water at the appropriate times as well. Get someone to take care of these two idiots, too. I’m transferring this interrogation to myself. If anyone gives you trouble, direct them straight to me and I’ll handle them.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Then the woman was rushing from the hallway, running earnestly to carry out Seonghwa’s orders. Once she was gone entirely, Seonghwa turned to Wooyoung next. He walked over to him, stooping down and offering a careful hand.

“Can you get up?” Seonghwa asked, all traces of the raging anger he had moments before gone completely from his voice and expression. Instead, he looked genuinely concerned about the state Wooyoung was in.

“I’m not really sure,” Wooyoung admitted. “I think I’ve got a couple cracked ribs and my arm might be broken. I don’t think it’s supposed to look like that.”

Seonghwa gave a small chuckle.

“Alright, this might hurt a lot, but we can’t leave you on the floor,” Seonghwa explained. Carefully, with gently touches, he maneuvered an arm under both Wooyoung’s lets and another under his back. Then, with a strained effort, he lifted him up off the floor. Wooyoung hissed in pain at the action, feeling things in his abdomen popping that should not be capable of popping, his broken arm hanging lifeless towards the ground. Slowly, Seonghwa carried him towards the small cot attached to the wall of the cell and carefully laid him down on it.

“Sorry,” Seonghwa apologized as he saw the pain in Wooyoung’s expression.

“No need to apologize. If anything I should thank you for your intervention…. I was expecting to die,” Wooyoung admitted quietly.

“I should’ve gotten here faster,” Seonghwa told him. “Had I known I would’ve transferred you under my authority immediately.”

“Why are you helping me?” Wooyoung asked, genuinely confused. He couldn’t understand why someone who was on their enemy’s side would want to help him. “First at the TV station, you had to have figured out why we were there after the broadcast aired and now…?”

Seonghwa looked momentarily embarrassed by the words he was about to say as he started:

“You helped me get closer to Hongjoong, something I’ve been pining after hopelessly for a long time. You saved me, I’ve saved you. As far as I’m concerned, we’re more than even.” He then added much more quietly, barely even a whisper: “And there are more of us than you think who want this monstrosity taken down for good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks soooo much for reading! I really hoped you enjoyed this installment. I worked suuuper hard to get it out as fast as I could so I hope it was worth the wait. 
> 
> All comments appreciated! 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter! @AAvery151  
> Follow my Beta! @TrashKing52  
> I have a curious cat now as well! If you'd like to ask me anything or send writing requests, that, along with twitter, would be the place to do it!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how long this took but I hope the sheer amount of words makes up for it lol

~Yeosang~

“You need to quit squirming,” Yeosang scolded resisting the urge to also hit the younger man in front of him playfully. Doing that would probably only cause more of an issue. Jongho was already in enough pain as it was, he didn’t need Yeosang beating him up to sit still on top of everything else.

“Sorry,” Jongho mumbled, his eyes downcast. He was trying his best to not show pain on his face but Yeosang knew him well enough to see it anyway.

“I know it hurts,” Yeosang said quietly, his voice softer than it had been moments before. He just didn’t want to mess this up. It was his fault Jongho had gotten shot in the first place, so he had taken it upon himself to patch up the wound. They couldn’t bring him to the hospital to treat the injury; the doctors would ask too many questions and involve too many unnecessary people in a matter they could not explain away. It wasn’t worth the risk, so he had carefully removed the bullet lodged in Jongho’s upper arm himself. It hadn’t caused any major damage but if left in could cause more problems down the road. Jongho, to his credit, hadn’t made a sound as Yeosang got the bullet out or even as he stitched the wound closed. His face had grown increasingly pale, though, and a layer of cold sweat was starting to collect on his skin.

“I’m almost done, I promise.”

Jongho only nodded in response before letting out a short cough to clear his throat.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, his voice strained and barely above a whisper.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Yeosang said. “I just don’t want to mess this up.”

The younger nodded again in understanding. Then, the room became silent once more as Yeosang focused on stitching up Jongho’s arm

After Jongho and Yeosang had gotten the power turned back on and all the Agony agents apprehended, the rest of the team had shown up minutes later. All of them had been so relieved to see that both of them were relatively unharmed. San had latched onto Yeosang upon seeing him and hadn’t let go for a good ten minutes as he tried to deal with all the emotions running through him.

Once everyone had been convinced that both Jongho and Yeosang were relatively unharmed, they’d properly taken care of the intruding and unconscious Agony agents. The five agents had each been placed in different holding cells within the basement of the warehouse. The team was sure that the lower-leveled agents that had invaded their hideout probably didn’t know a whole lot besides what they had been told but that wasn’t going to stop the team from at least trying to get all the information they could.

Then, with the agents sufficiently tied up and locked away, the team had dispersed to each do their own version of damage control with the stipulation that they all come back together in a few hours to discuss what to do next.

Ghost had left the warehouse in a flare of anger that no one was sure of the source, and no one dared ask either. He radiated energy that just screamed he would punch anyone who so much as looked at him the wrong way. So when he said that he was going to contact some people to see what exactly had gone awry with that mission, no one stopped him for fear of the man turning his anger on them. Hongjoong had looked like he had wanted to say more to the man before he stormed out the exit but ultimately had let him go. They had bigger things to worry about right now than why Ghost was reacting to the situation the way he was.

With Ghost gone, for the time being, Hongjoong had locked himself in their board room without a word to anyone else. No one was sure exactly what it was he was doing but if Yeosang had to guess, he’d say their leader was pouring over every last bit of intel they had gathered within the last few weeks, looking for what they could have possibly missed.

Yunho and Mingi had taken Gunho with them back to the warehouse along with the rest of the team. Yeosang was sure they were never going to let the boy out of their sight for a long time to come and he didn’t blame them. They had explained to the boy what it was that they did for a living as best they could and Gunho, always having been quite smart, had understood. Instead of whatever adverse reaction the two of them had been expecting however, the eight-year-old had immediately expressed how “cool” he thought all of his hyungs were. Thankfully, Gunho appeared to be okay in every other aspect as well. He’d admitted to being very scared but also said that the Agony agents hadn’t done anything to him and were relatively kind up until the Governor had made his appearance. Relieved beyond measure that their child hadn’t been emotionally scarred for life, Yunho and Mingi were now trying to get the boy to go to bed in their designated room in the warehouse basement. It’d been a long day for the eight-year-old after all.

Yeosang wasn’t sure how San was spending his time. After he’d agreed to let go of Yeosang, the younger man had run off without another word. That’s what had prompted Hongjoong to give everyone a bit of a break before they jumped right back into work. He clearly was not handling Wooyoung’s capture well at all and Yeosang really couldn’t blame him. The only reason the rest of the team, himself included, weren’t also in an emotional crisis was that they all had other things to deal with. Usually, San’s one other thing to deal with was Wooyoung himself and he couldn’t exactly occupy his time with that right now. Yeosang really felt for him, but as stated, he had other things to deal with; perhaps the most out of everyone on the team besides maybe Ghost.

After everyone had dispersed, Yeosang’s first order of business had been to make sure Jongho’s wounds had been treated. Which is how he found himself in his current situation. He wasn’t sure where the best place was to carry out the procedure he had long since mastered in the five years he had been in this line of work, so he had just taken Jongho into his makeshift bedroom. That’s where he kept all the medical supplies anyway. It was honestly more of a storage room than a bedroom to begin with; Yeosang was sure he had never once actually slept in the bed the two of them were seated on now. Whenever he’d spend the night at the hideout, more often than not he fell asleep at his desk if he even slept at all.

Jongho had put up a bit of a fight at first, saying that he could take care of it himself so that Yeosang could go start on the laundry list of things he needed to get done. Under different circumstances, Yeosang would’ve agreed but after everything that had happened between the two of them today, Yeosang had decided that Jongho was a top priority. All the other things he needed to do wouldn’t even take that long once he actually started them and if he were honest, a lot of them could be done without him monitoring the entire process. Jongho had given in to Yeosang’s stubbornness to help without much argument after Yeosang had told him:

“You’re more important to me than some stupid machines.”

A big admittance for him and he was sure Jongho had understood the significance. He complied easily after that, probably out of nothing more than embarrassment. Yeosang would have been embarrassed by his own words too if he hadn’t been so unbelievably worried about the man’s health at that moment.

He’d asked Jongho to strip his top half of clothes once they got to it; they were covered in blood and Yeosang couldn’t exactly extract a bullet with all of Jongho’s clothes in the way. This had been another point of contention but Jongho had stopped protesting when Yeosang threatened to take his clothes off himself. It wasn’t like Jongho had anything to be ashamed of without a shirt on; Yeosang may have stared a little longer than necessary, causing a light blush to grace Jongho’s tanned skin. But the next hour and a half was anything but romantic as Yeosang took the bullet out of Jongho’s arm and stitched the wound back together with the utmost care.

With a steady hand and eyes completely focused, Yeosang snipped the end of the thread after tying it off. Carefully, so as to not cause even more pain, he cleaned the remaining blood from around the wound before then wrapping it in a few tight layers of gauze.

“Alright, I think you’re going to be okay. Though you should change that gauze every couple of hours… I’ll remind you,” Yeosang said as he finished. Jongho nodded slowly in understanding as Yeosang stood up to find something clean for Jongho to wear; he was sure they had a few spare uniforms around somewhere for this exact reason.

“Thank you,” Jongho said quietly, his voice less strained now as he took the new clothes from Yeosang. He stared at them for a second before sighing deeply, as if resigning to his fate. “Can you help me put them on? I can’t lift my arm enough to do it myself.”

Yeosang agreed, feeling dumb for not having realized that in the first place. He helped Jongho into his shirt first before pulling on the jacket next. He buttoned up the coat once it was on properly. His eyes followed his movements all the way up until he found himself looking into Jongho’s eyes. His breath caught in his throat. Jongho stared unflinchingly back down at him.

Oh right.

It seemed in his hurry to make sure Jongho didn’t lose an arm, Yeosang had forgotten about the elephant in the room. He knew they needed to talk about what had happened in the heat of the moment. Truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure where to go from here. They’d been friends for two years now; would it be too weird to jump into a romantic relationship? All he was sure about was that when Jongho kissed him, he had felt something, something electric and exhilarating. He’d kissed a few people in his twenty years alive but none of them had felt like that. Maybe the threat of death had something to do with it but Yeosang was willing to bet there was more to it than that.

Well… They definitely needed to talk if Yeosang was ever going to get any answers.

“Jongho—”

“Hyung, I—”

They both started at the same time and both quickly stopped when they realized the other was talking. They stared at each other for another moment, waiting for the other to start again. When it began to get awkward, Yeosang decided he would start. He cleared his throat.

“So uhh… about what happened… When I kissed you…”

Jongho coughed, clearly uncomfortable.

“And when I kissed you?” Jongho added with a short laugh, averting his eyes. Yeosang nodded.

“I don’t really know how to say this…” Yeosang continued, trailing off as he tried to find the proper words for his want to move forward.

Jongho sighed, starting to speak before Yeosang could continue.

“I understand,” he said. “It was just a heat of the moment kind of thing, it doesn’t have to mean anything. We both could’ve died. We can just forget it ever happened.”

“That’s…” Yeosang just had to rip the bandage off before Jongho misunderstood any further. What he had just said was the exact opposite of what Yeosang wanted. “That’s not at all what I was going to say… but if that’s what _you_ want—”

“No!” Jongho quickly cut him off, perhaps a bit too loud. He began again after bringing his voice back down to a reasonable volume. “No… I want—I want to… kiss you again and in the future too.”

What an awkward mess this conversation had turned into. Though, he shouldn’t have expected any different, honestly.

“I want that too…”

“You’re sure, right?” Jongho asked, a large amount of vulnerability in his voice and on clear display on his face. “I mean, this isn’t just because of what happened, right? Like there’s more there than just the fact that you think I saved you.”

Yeosang rolled his eyes at Jongho’s choice of phrasing.

“But you did save me!” He argued but stopped quickly. This wasn’t the point of this conversation. “I can’t say that what happened didn’t play a role… but I think it opened my eyes to what was already there more than anything else.”

Jongho went quiet for a minute, causing Yeosang’s anxiety to rise.

“I care an awful lot about you, hyung,” Jongho said finally. He reached out with his good arm, grabbing Yeosang’s hand and pulling him closer till they were practically chest to chest. “I want to just make sure that you’re happy.”

“You make me happy,” Yeosang admitted and inwardly cringed at the cheesy words he had impulsively let loose, but he decided the smile he received from the man in front of him was well worth the embarrassment. It was true anyway; he had just never realized how much of a positive influence Jongho was within his life. He honestly didn’t know where he would be in life without Jongho if he was even alive, to begin with.

Yeosang reached up, wrapping his arms around Jongho’s neck just as he placed careful hands on his waist. They didn’t waste any time; they’d danced around each other these past two years enough for a lifetime. When their lips met in the middle, Yeosang decided that this kiss felt just as good as the last. That one had been more desperate, more like their lives depended on it. This one was slower, sweeter, conveying more emotion, so soft it made Yeosang’s toes curl at the feeling. If that wasn’t evidence enough that his feelings were real, Yeosang didn’t know what more could possibly be required to prove it.

Silky brown locks slipped through his fingers as their lips slotted together leisurely. Neither of them was in much of a hurry; there would be plenty of time to explore this new development later when they were alone and when there were fewer matters to worry about.

“Ahem.”

And the spell dissipated. They didn’t jump apart this time, though. Yeosang was rather content to just stay in Jongho’s strong arms for another few moments despite the fact that there was a third person in the room now. Slowly, hesitating to break eye contact, they shared a smile before turning to the newcomer. Ghost now stood in the open doorway to Yeosang’s room, leaning against the frame.

“Not your boyfriend, huh?” He teased. Yeosang rolled his eyes, pretending not to notice the way Jongho possessively pulled him a little closer upon realizing it was Ghost who had intruded on their moment.

“Things change,” Yeosang said back, uncaring that neither he nor Jongho was wearing their full disguise. He figured it really didn’t matter anymore even if Ghost was secretly nefarious.

“So I see.”

“Did you need something?” Jongho asked.

“Ah right. The captain wants us all in the conference room in a couple of minutes to discuss what to do next,” the man explained.

“We’ll be there, then,” Yeosang agreed. Ghost left without another word, then, leaving the two of them to make their own way to the meeting. He must’ve recently gotten back to the hideout, Yeosang decided. At least he had reigned in his anger from before.

Yeosang turned to face Jongho to once again find the younger already looking back at him. That same expression from before was back on his face: pure, unfiltered adoration. Yeosang felt his cheeks heat immediately but he didn’t look away this time. He wondered briefly again if this was the way Jongho had always looked at him, but he decided that he couldn’t have. Yeosang surely would have noticed before, wouldn’t he? Well regardless, he had certainly noticed now.

“We should—” His voice cracked. He cleared his throat. “We should regroup with the team.”

Jongho didn’t say anything for a moment.

“You’re absolutely sure about this, right?” He asked finally.

“Yes,” Yeosang agreed. “I’m absolutely sure, now stop asking.”

Jongho smiled, leaning his forehead against Yeosang’s gently.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that,” he said with a giggle.

“I—I care about you, Jongho. You’ve saved my life twice now and you’ve always been there for me even when I was just being terrible to you. I’ll say it as many times as you want.”

“How about just once more for now?”

Yeosang giggled. He leaned forward just a bit more so that his lips brushed Jongho’s as he spoke:

“Yes, I’m absolutely sure that I want you. That I care about you.”

Jongho surged forward at his words, kissing him oh-so-sweetly once more. Yeosang wanted so bad to just melt into the kiss and let it go on for hours until they were both ready to part… but they both had a job to do.

It took all of Yeosang’s willpower to break away, clutching the front of Jongho’s jacket tightly to steady himself. He took a stuttering deep breath.

“We um… we should get to that meeting,” Yeosang said, willing his heart to calm down.

“Yeah,” Jongho agreed with a nod. He pulled away just a bit, leaving his good arm wrapped around Yeosang’s waist. They walked down the hall a few doorways to their designated conference room. The two of them were the last to arrive. Hongjoong was at the other end of the room, staring at a bulletin board full of the information they had gathered thus far. Mingi was sitting at the table placed in the middle of the room, elbows resting on the surface, head in his hands with Yunho rubbing soothing circles up and down his back. San was pacing the length of the room, chewing on the nail of his thumb, lost in his own thoughts. Ghost stood leaning against the back corner, his arms crossed as he watched the scene before him. Yeosang cleared his throat, letting their arrival be known. Hongjoong turned suddenly at the sound, seemingly snapping himself out of his thoughts. He turned around when he caught sight of the two of them.

“Good, everyone’s here,” he said. “Let’s get started.”

Jongho and Yeosang took a seat at the table. Yeosang tried not to notice the three questioning looks he got from Yunho, Mingi, and Hongjoong as Jongho pulled Yeosang’s chair as close as he could to his own so that he could still have close physical contact. He knew his face was bright red under all their gazes; he was thankful none of them asked.

“Where do we even start?” Yunho asked with a sigh instead, getting right down to business. Before anyone could say anything in response, San stopped his pacing abruptly and snapped back:

“What the hell even happened back there?!” He shouted. He looked once more on the verge of hysterical tears, his worry clear as day as he ripped off his face mask and threw it across the room. He rushed up to Ghost, looking as if he was about to release all of his anger into hitting him as hard as he could. Yunho quickly stood up, following Hongjoong and stopping San before he reached the man. Ghost didn’t even flinch or move out of the way as if he had decided that he deserved whatever anger San had been about to throw at him, watching the man with clear remorse in his eyes.

“You need to calm down,” Hongjoong said quietly. San ripped himself out of Yunho and Hongjoong’s grip, stalking back over to the other end of the room where he began his pacing once more. The rest of them were dead silent as San’s yelling filled the room.

“Calm down?! How the fuck am I supposed to calm down when Wooyoung is with those bastards?!”

Hongjoong flinched at the words.

“You should use his codename,” Mingi gave a half-hearted attempt but he quickly backed off when San turned to glare at him.

“What does it matter anymore? Agony has made it pretty fucking clear they know everything they need to about us. If he’s a fucking spy,” he pointed an accusatory finger at Ghost. “Then he already knows who we are and if he’s not then it shouldn’t even matter, to begin with.”

He had a point. No one said anything in response, letting San continue.

“How do we even know he’s still alive?” San asked the room, his voice cracking over the words.

“He’s alive,” Ghost spoke up. San turned to look at him, anger and hope mixing strangely on his face.

“How do you know?” He asked, sounding wholly broken.

“After we all regrouped back here, I went to look for some answers,” Ghost explained. “I contacted my informant within Agony, and they told me that Wooyoung is still alive. He’s been placed under Seonghwa’s division so he has a good chance of making it out of this.”

“Seonghwa’s division?” Hongjoong asked.

“Yeah, the guy transferred Wooyoung under his supervision after he found out what had happened.”

“Who’s your informant in Agony?” Yunho asked, going back to sit next to Mingi at the table.

“I can’t tell you that. They’re already risking a whole lot by talking to me, the fewer people who know their identity the better for all parties involved.”

“Was that the same informant who fed you the information about the convoy mission?” Hongjoong asked.

“The mission was a set up from the beginning. Agony figured they had a mole feeding information to the outside and they held a meeting with the higher-ups of the organization to discuss it. Only the Governor and a select few knew that the mission was a setup and my informant was, unfortunately, one of the people they were testing. We should’ve known… gotten more information…” From what little Yeosang could actually see of Ghost’s face, he could tell the man was truly broken up over what had happened. If he was faking this whole story, he was certainly a good actor. “I know it doesn’t mean much, but I’m truly sorry for not realizing sooner what their plan was. I never wanted to get a child involved.”

“He’s okay,” Yunho spoke up. “You don’t have to worry about Gunho.”

Ghost nodded, looking grateful for the information.

“I just want to know how they knew our names,” Mingi spoke up.

“Here’s the thing about that,” Ghost said. “With the very limited amount of research my informant was able to put together before speaking with me, Agony does not know as much as they want you to believe. Another scare tactic that they like to run. They learn just enough for you all to think that but in actuality, they don’t have shit and are just hoping you’ll roll over submissively at the first sign of trouble.”

“So what? They sure seemed to know a whole lot,” San snapped.

“Agony keeps tabs on all the people it fucks over in case they ever get the idea to step out of line. So Agony knows each of your faces but not necessarily what you’re all up to. Because they can’t possibly monitor every person they’ve ever fucked over all at the same time, they have a system to flag suspicious activity. My informant was able to find what flagged Yunho and Mingi in their systems. It was a combination of the stunt you pulled to bug the Governor’s household cars and buying a thirty-thousand-dollar car when Mingi’s family is supposedly in debt half a million dollars,” Ghost explained.

“Shit,” Yunho mumbled. Mingi didn’t react, staring at the table in front of him with a blank expression.

“So in all actuality, the only people they have information on is Mingi and Yunho. Didn’t you notice what the Governor said about me?” Ghost asked.

“Wherever Ghost is hiding,” Hongjoong filled in slowly, quoting what the Governor had said and understanding where Ghost was going with his explanation. “You were standing right in front of him, yet he didn’t know enough to recognize that you were the odd one out in our organization.”

“Exactly,” Ghost agreed. “He probably only knew who you were because you’re the only one who doesn’t wear red as the leader of the organization.”

“But then how did those agents discover where our hideout was?” Yunho asked.

“As far as I could tell, there was nothing on Agony’s servers about the location of your hideout, they must not have trusted anyone else besides the agents who you have locked up with your locations,” Ghost said. “If I had to guess, they probably won’t try another infiltration for a while now that they know you stopped their first attempt without any causalities.”

“So what do we do now?” Jongho asked.

“Well, for one you’re definitely not going to give in to the Governor’s demands,” Ghost said.

“That’s easy for you to say, they don’t have the love of your life in their clutches,” San practically growled at the man.

“No, they don’t, but that’s what we’re going to do next,” he began. “We’re going to break Wooyoung out of there.”

~Wooyoung~

Wooyoung sat at a steel desk in a steel chair, his hands cuffed to a bar in front of him. The metal rubbed harshly against his raw wrists, a side effect from wearing the bindings for entirely too long. The room was painfully white, not a speck of dirt or anything unsightly to be seen. The floor was made of the same white, spotless linoleum tile his cell’s floor had been and directly below Wooyoung’s chair was a drain. He didn’t even want to imagine what that was for. He wanted to think, at least for a little longer, that he was going to make it out of this interrogation alive.

His injuries had been taken care of yesterday as per Seonghwa’s orders. His arm—thankfully not severely broken but still fractured—had been bound. Any cracked ribs had been set properly and his chest bandaged as well. The dislocation of his nose had been put back into place and all the blood had been cleaned off him. All cuts, bruises, and scrapes had also been cared for with the utmost care. No one else had talked to him. He saw no other agents besides the doctors that had treated him and the same woman from his initial interrogation yesterday who now brought him his meals and made sure he was staying properly hydrated. He still felt like shit; every limb, every muscle, every joint ached whenever he so much as moved a centimeter, but he wasn’t going to let it show. He wasn’t going to give his interrogator any more of a leg up than he already had over him.

He had sat alone in this interrogation room for a very long time. He wasn’t entirely sure how long, seeing as he didn’t have a watch or his phone and there wasn’t a clock anywhere in the room, but if he had to guess, he’d say it’d been about two hours. He knew this tactic. It was meant to make him anxious, more fearful of what was to come and more willing to share information to avoid whatever ill-conceived fears he may have come up within his solitude. It wasn’t going to work on him, though—and it hadn’t, he’d taken a short nap instead of worrying himself silly. But now, his interrogator had finally graced him with his presence. True to his word, Seonghwa sat across from him. His black clothes were a stark contrast to the white around them. He wasn’t wearing his mask. An interesting choice, Wooyoung thought. Seonghwa had to be aware of what Wooyoung’s specialty was. He had to know he was incredibly good at reading people and manipulating a conversation to go the way he wanted. Seeing Seonghwa’s face put them on equal footing. He was unsure of how to take that. Was he so confident that Wooyoung would not be able to gain the upper hand in this conversation? Or was he just woefully inexperienced? After seeing the way he had taken out those two agents yesterday, he highly doubted it was the latter option. He decided to tread carefully whatever the reason because at least one thing was obvious: Seonghwa was trying to convey something to him by not wearing a mask; whether his intentions were nefarious or not, it didn’t matter.

Since his face was on full display, Wooyoung had taken the opportunity to get a good look at the man for the first time up close. Unsurprisingly, he showed no emotion outwardly on his handsome face but Wooyoung did notice something amiss. On his left eye, poorly covered up by a layer of concealer, was a large bruise. The untrained eye wouldn’t have noticed the makeup covering the man’s face; fortunately for Wooyoung however, he had a trained eye. Taking a closer look, he also noticed a split on his lower lip.

“Have you been treated properly since I last saw you?” Seonghwa asked, breaking the silence that had plagued the room since Wooyoung had first been put there.

He couldn’t resist the urge. Without thinking, he responded:

“Have you?”

An eyebrow rose slightly at the question and only for a second before Seonghwa schooled his reaction back into neutrality. Seonghwa was probably surprised Wooyoung had noticed the cover-up. A miscalculation on his part. Not a whole lot got past Wooyoung. When Seonghwa didn’t say anything in response for a few beats, Wooyoung continued on.

“You really need to apply the makeup better if you don’t want people like me to notice,” he explained. “It’s not hard to see the black eye if you know what you’re looking at.”

Seonghwa cracked a small smile.

“What does it matter that I seem to be hurt in this situation?” Seonghwa asked. “You’re the one being interrogated. Don’t you think by appearing to be hurt as well, that would cause you to trust me more?”

“If that were what you were going for then why bother trying to cover it up at all?” Wooyoung shot right back. He got the feeling that both of them were trying to size the other up right at this moment. Wooyoung really wasn’t sure what Seonghwa’s motives here were. On one hand, he had stepped in to help Wooyoung when the other agents would have murdered him. But then on the other, Seonghwa was still affiliated with the enemy and some of the things he had said to that boar-masked agent when he’d been unaware of Wooyoung’s presence didn’t quite sit right with him. He doubted he’d ever get a straight answer out of the man while they were in this interrogation room, however. If Wooyoung had to guess, there were probably cameras all over this room. Someone would be watching them so even if Seonghwa was wholly committed to helping Wooyoung out of this situation, there was no way he could ever outright say it. “What happened?”

“Why do you care that your enemy is hurt?”

He was dodging the question.

“So you admit to being my enemy?”

Two could play at that game.

Seonghwa laughed.

“You’re awfully on edge,” he said. “Though, I suppose I can’t blame you. To ease your worries, I have no intention of interrogating you here today. I told you already that I’m not interested in helping this organization in the slightest.”

Regardless of whether or not that was true, Wooyoung didn’t believe him. If he could say that so casually with people watching him, it had to be a ploy he had already discussed with the rest of his team. Wooyoung would play along for now. If he played his cards right, he could potentially find out what Agony wanted to know from him. In doing that, he would find out what they did and didn’t know about ATEEZ already.

“So you’re on our side, is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of helping out any organization. I don’t want anything to do with this conflict,” Seonghwa explained, his voice even. Wooyoung was amazed by the lack of emotion the man was expressing. He saw nothing. He couldn’t read him at all. He wondered if this poker face was a part of Agony’s standard training for their field agents. It would make sense if that were the case since Ghost was equally as hard to read. Though he supposed the mask and the voice modulator didn’t help Wooyoung in that respect.

“So why help me?”

“Because I can’t stand what this organization has turned into at the first sign of trouble,” Seonghwa said. “First, they kidnap a child, and then they almost kill one of the most valuable faces on the street for a ridiculous reason. Such a pathetic display of power deserves to be undermined.”

“Best face on the street, huh?” Wooyoung asked with a chuckle. “I’m flattered; though, you’d better keep yourself in check. Wouldn’t want Hongjoong to find out you find one of his closest friends attractive.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Seonghwa shot right back with a barely contained eye roll. “I only meant “best face” in regard to your ability to find information. Besides, I wouldn’t want to get between you and your boyfriend, either, regardless of whether or not I find you attractive.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, actually,” Wooyoung said, sighing wistfully at being reminded of San. “My partner, yes. But we’re not romantically involved.”

“I see,” Seonghwa said slowly. “But you want to be.”

He said it with such certainty Wooyoung couldn’t even deny it. He felt a little bitter that someone like Seonghwa could see how much he cared about San but San himself was blind to it. The universe loved its irony, he supposed.

“Yeah,” he mumbled. Then he let out his bitter thoughts. He didn’t see the harm in doing so, he doubted his relationship with his partner was actually something Agony would give two shits about anyway. “But he’s too oblivious to see it and I didn’t want to risk what we had for a chance at more. But… If I make it out of here alive, I’m going to tell him. Though… I’m not too sure of my chance of actually doing that anymore.”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about.”

“Who are you worried about, then?”

“The person who gave you that black eye.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out who could’ve possibly given him such an injury. After seeing his prowess in combat yesterday, Wooyoung found it very hard to believe that an adversary had managed to even get close enough to touch him, let alone hit him hard enough to split his lip and then again to leave a black eye. The only persons he could think of that were high enough to exact that kind of punishment on Seonghwa and who were skilled enough to actually carry it out would be his older brother or the Governor himself. He figured it was probably the latter who had done it.

“And who do you figure that was?”

“Who else?” Wooyoung asked with a snort. “You have the worst father in the history of fathers.”

Seonghwa laughed at that one but said nothing else. Wooyoung pushed for just a little more.

“Why would he hit you, though?”

Seonghwa cleared his throat, looking for a brief second like he was debating what his next words should be. Wooyoung saw his eyes flit to something up behind his head; there must have been a camera over there. He didn’t turn around to look.

“I spoke out of turn at a meeting regarding what to do with you. I may have… said a few things I shouldn’t have in front of the wrong audience.”

“What a dick,” Wooyoung said. If the Governor was listening in—and he really hoped he was—Wooyoung couldn’t have cared less. It was one of the tamer insults he had used to describe the man anyway.

Seonghwa clearly held back another snort of laughter but Wooyoung wasn’t going to draw attention to it in case it got Seonghwa in trouble again.

“Regardless, he’s not going to kill you either. Any and all decisions regarding you now have to go through me, no exceptions. I am solely responsible for you.”

“How chivalrous. A regular knight in shining armor, aren’t you?” Wooyoung cooed over-exaggeratedly. He dropped the act as he continued on, turning Seonghwa’s earlier question back on him. “But why do you care if your enemy is hurt?”

“Are you my enemy?”

Wooyoung wasn’t sure how to answer that question anymore.

“If you’re associated with Agony, I think that would make you my enemy.”

“And if I wasn’t?”

“Then we could have been friends, I’d like to think.”

Seonghwa nodded slowly as if letting the words sink in. Wooyoung was even more confused than before.

“And even so, you were okay with setting up a friend with someone you would consider an enemy?”

Oh, Wooyoung had to tread carefully here. He couldn’t let Seonghwa know Hongjoong was a part of ATEEZ. Under absolutely no circumstances could he even suspect that Hongjoong was in any way associated with their organization.

“It’s as I told you back at the broadcast station. Hongjoong’s been pining after you for so long we were starting to get sick of it.”

He couldn’t just outright say: Hongjoong is in no way involved with ATEEZ. That’d be entirely too obvious. If Hongjoong wasn’t actually apart of ATEEZ, Wooyoung wouldn’t even think to mention that he wasn’t. He’d have to be more subtle about it, otherwise, Seonghwa was sure to pick up on the fact that Wooyoung was hiding something.

“So why lie to me about you and your partner’s relationship?” Seonghwa then asked.

“We wanted you to feel more comfortable around us,” Wooyoung explained easily.

“How’d you know I’m gay?” He then asked. Wooyoung was slightly taken aback by the man’s forwardness, especially since in the last conversation he’d had with the man, he’d been a shy, stuttering mess. Was he putting up a false front here? Or was his shyness the act? Wooyoung couldn’t tell for sure.

“We heard a few rumors on campus,” he began. “But the nail in the coffin was when we saw you checking out Hongjoong’s ass a few weeks ago.”

Seonghwa snorted, his face beginning to take on a slightly red hue. Ah, so his shy mess side was still present. Interesting.

“If you heard the scarce rumors of my being gay then surely, you’re also aware that no one wants to be around me. Couple that with me also being your enemy, as you say, and why even bother helping your friend in the first place?” Seonghwa asked. Wooyoung’s eyes tracked a twitch in the man’s expression. His eyebrows knitted together ever so slightly, the corners of his mouth turned downward for a split second. Clearly, his own words made him feel something. Was it sadness? Loneliness? Or perhaps anger? Bitterness?

“Hongjoong’s always been a strange guy, with strange tastes, but he’s a good guy. Super sweet and wears his heart on his sleeve. I’m sure you know all that already; it doesn’t take long to see it. If you make him happy, then who am I to get in the way? Hongjoong isn’t apart of this conflict, probably doesn’t even know it’s happening, honestly,” Wooyoung explained. “I really look up to him and he’s helped me more times than I can count so if this is how I can repay him then I’ll do it again and again in a heartbeat.”

Seonghwa nodded slowly in understanding.

“That’s pretty loyal of you,” Seonghwa agreed. “So is Hongjoong like a mentor to you, would you say?”

That was an odd question considering everything Wooyoung had just told him. What was he getting at here?

“Mentor?” Wooyoung asked, hoping to get some clarification.

“Someone you look up to, like a role model. A leader.”

Oh.

_Oh._

Realization hit Wooyoung like a lightning bolt.

 _What a fucking snake!_ Wooyoung had so easily fallen for his ploy. How could he be so careless to actually believe the enemy when he said he wasn’t going to interrogate him? He was in an interrogation cell for fuck’s sake, handcuffed to a desk. He should’ve seen this coming; he should’ve realized what Seonghwa was doing sooner. The man really was a highly trained agent, after all. Everyone on the team constantly reminded themselves that Seonghwa was still a highly trained agent despite his outward appearances and up until just the other day, Wooyoung hadn’t seen any sign that Seonghwa actually _was_ a dangerous enemy. Watching him mercilessly take down members of his organization had been a shock. He’d shot a man in the leg without a second of hesitation. Sure, the bullets hadn’t been lethal but Wooyoung had the sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. If that’s how Seonghwa treated his allies when he was angry with them, Wooyoung was terrified to find out how he treated an enemy.

He wondered how much of what Seonghwa had said and done had actually been genuine. Had he saved Wooyoung only to lull him into a false sense of security? Said all these things about helping him just so that Wooyoung would believe him when he said he wasn’t going to interrogate him? Whatever the answer really was, he had to operate under the assumption moving forward that Seonghwa was a dangerous enemy not to be trusted. That should’ve been how he acted from the beginning, but it was too late to fix any of that now He just had to keep Seonghwa from finding out about Hongjoong at all costs.

“Hmm, I’d say just a good friend more than any of those things,” Wooyoung explained, keeping his realization off his face. He didn’t want Seonghwa to know he was on to his little game. “Definitely not a role model and I’d never follow his example. He’s got some pretty terrible habits, after all.”

“Like what?” Seonghwa asked, curiosity broke through his mask with his words. A concerned look passed through his face for a split second. Wooyoung decided the answer to that question was something Seonghwa wanted to know and not Agony. How interesting. Maybe Hongjoong’s terrible flirting really _had_ had an effect on Seonghwa despite his suspicions. That was a very valuable piece of information, indeed. Wooyoung could work with that.

“He takes awful care of himself, works himself to the bone, and doesn’t sleep until he passes out from exhaustion. It’s a miracle he hasn’t been taken to a hospital yet because of it.”

That look of concern passed through Seonghwa’s features again, barely there and only for a fraction of a second. Well, that just confirmed it. Seonghwa did care enough about Hongjoong to find his unhealthy habits concerning. It would’ve been cute if Wooyoung hadn’t determined Seonghwa was a snake. He didn’t trust him as far as he could throw him and Wooyoung wasn’t very strong, to begin with.

“Not to even mention anyone could read him like a book. Can’t really follow his lead in my line of work, don’t you agree?” Wooyoung continued.

“I can imagine you couldn’t,” Seonghwa agreed.

Both of them sat in silence for a minute, neither of them sure where to go from here. Wooyoung was unsure of what was safe to say anymore. Anything could be used against him in the right hands, and he had no doubt Seonghwa was smart enough to do so.

Thankfully, Seonghwa broke the silence so Wooyoung didn’t have to.

“Well, I think that’s enough of this,” Seonghwa decided. “I’ve learned what I needed from you and I feel confident in telling you that I don’t intend on keeping you here for much longer.”

His voice sounded more confident than before. It wasn’t something he noticed because Seonghwa hadn’t sounded confident before, but rather something he took note of now that it was apparent. A strange change. Wooyoung wondered what had triggered it.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to kill me,” Wooyoung said with a small laugh. He was only half-joking. He really hoped Seonghwa hadn’t meant it in that way.

“While that’s what Agony would have me do when I tell them you refused to give up any insider information, to be frank, I don’t give a fuck what they want me to do. Not after the stunt they pulled to get you here.”

“So what? You’re going to let me go?”

“As easy as that would be, I can’t do that. They’d kill me for it and I’ve recently found a reason to keep living,” Seonghwa began. “So instead, I’ve contacted Ghost.”

“You know how to contact Ghost?” Wooyoung asked.

“I have a few connections, but I’ve known Ghost for years now, given him information when I stood to gain from it.”

Wooyoung really didn’t know how to take that. Did this new knowledge make Seonghwa more trustworthy? Or did it make Ghost more suspicious? Given everything that Wooyoung had learned thus far from Seonghwa, he was leaning more towards the latter.

“You seem surprised,” Seonghwa said.

“Ghost never mentioned that to us.”

“For good reason. As I said, if my father found out what it is that I do when he’s not looking, he’d kill me in a heartbeat without a shred of remorse. The fewer people who know about it, the better.”

Wooyoung decided that whoever had been listening in on the interrogation had left and Seonghwa was aware that they had left. Otherwise, Wooyoung found it hard to believe Seonghwa would share this information if he were still being watched based on how he had skirted around so many other things earlier in their conversation.

“Why tell me, then?”

“I hear you’re good at keeping a secret,” Seonghwa said with a teasing smile. Wooyoung snorted.

“Fair enough,” Wooyoung said with a sigh. “So why contact Ghost?”

Seonghwa leaned forward, bringing his voice down to a whisper. Wooyoung leaned forward a bit just to be able to hear him.

“Because I’m going to help him break you out of here.”

~Mingi~

“How long are you just going to sit there and stare at me?” The Agony agent seated across from Mingi practically growled. Mingi didn’t even react, continuing to sit perfectly still with perfect posture, keeping all of his emotions in check. He’d been at this for a while now, interrogating all the agents that had been stupid enough to go up against Jongho and Yeosang. This one, handcuffed to the desk between them, was the last of the group of five. None of the other agents knew anything useful, Mingi was sure of it. He’d been absolutely merciless in his pursuit of knowledge, so he was confident in his assertions. All the others had pointed him in the right direction, however. They told him that this last agent was the leader of the operation and they had only been following his orders.

So here he was, sitting across from the last Agony agent in the dimly lit interrogation cell of their warehouse basement. The Agony agent’s weapons had been confiscated obviously but they’d also stripped him of his disguise. He wouldn’t be needing it where he was going. They’d taken detailed pictures and compiled all the evidence of wrongdoing they could on the intruders and after they were done here, they’d drop all these men right on the steps of the police headquarters with the condemning information. The team had decided that would send a good message to anyone watching. The public would see ATEEZ was actually able to deliver on their promise of justice. The police could finally do something against Agony because of the undeniable evidence Yeosang had dug up. And Agony would see that ATEEZ wasn’t a group of pushovers or just children playing at organized crime.

Mingi had decided to go with a classic interrogation technique for this last agent. First, he’d left the man completely alone within the room for only thirty minutes, but he was sure it had felt like hours. Then, after watching the man drive himself crazy with his own thoughts, Mingi had entered the interrogation cell without a word. He’d sat down in the chair he was situated in now and hadn’t moved for what he timed to be another fifteen minutes, staring down the man across from him. His tactic was working perfectly. The man was growing increasingly more impatient as the seconds ticked by. He’d tried numerous times to get Mingi to say something, called him a whole litany of disgusting names in an effort to get any sort of reaction but Mingi wasn’t going to give in. Nothing the man threw at him was any worse than the voice in his own head.

“What are you? Some kind of robot?” The man asked. Then, out of complete frustration, he slammed his hands against the table as he shouted: “What do you want from me?!”

Mingi didn’t even flinch, didn’t even move a muscle. The man gave a frustrated groan when he realized Mingi wasn’t going to give in.

“I don’t know anything so you’re wasting your time.”

“Liar,” Mingi finally broke his silent streak. He had the man right where he wanted him anyway. It was time to get the info he needed.

“Excuse me?” The man asked.

“You. Are. A. Liar.” Mingi enunciated slowly, still unmoving and staring unflinchingly ahead. A mix of emotions played across the man’s face before bitterness was what it settled on. This was going to be entirely too easy. Weren’t Agony agents supposed to be highly trained and virtually unreadable? Maybe this group was the exception but Mingi really had been expecting more of a challenge.

“And how do you figure that, Mr. Interrogator?” The man sneered mockingly.

“Your friends sold you out,” Mingi said.

“They’re a bunch of cowards,” the man began in a flash of anger. “Of course they’re going to say whatever they think you want to hear.”

“They all agreed you were their leader.”

“And so what if I was? You got nothing on me—”

“Lee Hajoon, thirty-five, better known by his Agony codename Agent 157. Sixty-seven successful missions, five confirmed kills, and a wanted bounty of five thousand credits,” Mingi cut him off, reciting the information Yeosang had gotten on the man before they started the interrogation. “You’re not married but you have a child that you’ve never visited. Your day job is a menial office job at the company Agony owns. When we’re done here, you’ll be spending up to fifty years in prison and I’ll be five thousand credits richer. That is… if Agony doesn’t get to you first…”

“Ooo I’m _so_ scared,” the man mocked; though, Mingi was sure he was just covering up his actual fear. “What do you want from me?”

“You’re going to answer a few questions and in return, I won’t lay a finger on you.”

“I don’t know anything.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Maybe it is.” The man shrugged. “But you’re not going to get anything from me, anyway.”

Mingi was up out of his seat in an instant; the gun strapped to his hip was in his hand just as fast. Gun loaded and pointed inches away from the man’s forehead, Mingi towered over him all confidence and determination.

“I don’t want to have to resort to violence,” Mingi said warningly. He cocked the gun. “But I will if I have to.”

Panic took over the man’s expression, though he tried his best to pretend otherwise.

“Don’t make me laugh,” the man said. His voice was shaking. “Everyone on the street knows ATEEZ doesn’t kill.”

“No, we don’t,” Mingi agreed. “But this gun is still loaded and I’m sure you remember what these bullets felt like, but I’d imagine it's going to feel worse from this close. Then when you wake up, we can start this process all over again.”

“You don’t have the balls to pull that trigger,” the man spat. “You talk a big game, kid, but you’re nothing but a weak, spineless—”

Mingi shifted his aim a few inches to the right so that his gun was no longer pointed at the man. He pulled the trigger twice, firing at nothing but getting his point across nonetheless. The man flinched, yelping in surprise and eating his own words. Mingi pointed the gun back at the man.

“You were saying?”

The agent was visibly shaking. _Right where I want him._

“Alright! Alright. I’ll tell you what you want to know. Just… Just put the gun away.”

Bingo.

Mingi complied now that he had the man’s cooperation. He re-holstered his gun and sat back down in his seat. He wasted no time:

“Were you the leader of the infiltration?”

“Yeah, I was,” the man answered quickly. “I was entrusted with this mission by Agent 506. They told me I’d get a promotion if this went well.”

“Shame,” Mingi mused. He knew that information already, however. Time to find out what he really wanted to know.

“How’d Agony find where our hideout is?”

“We followed a few of your agents last week, you all ended up here at some point,” he explained.

“Who else knows where the warehouse is?”

“This is going to be hard to believe,” the man started with a bitter laugh. “But the only people who know are the agents you have locked up and me. Agony’s been having a bit of an information problem, so my boss didn’t want to risk anyone else knowing.”

“Information problem?”

“Yeah, tons of important and highly classified information on Agony’s servers has been erased and no one knows why or how. Then you assholes show up at this completely inopportune time and start actually posing a threat. The boss got a little desperate, probably even worse now…”

“Where would Agony hold people they’ve kidnapped?” Mingi then asked. This was the last bit of information he needed to know. Ghost was also trying to find this information but if Mingi could get it faster all the better.

“What? Why is that important?”

“We traded the life of my child for one of our friends. We’d like to get him back.”

The man laughed.

“Good luck with that, buddy. Your friend’s probably dead or about to be by now.”

“Humor me,” Mingi said. “We have a good feeling about this one.”

“So you bastards are behind the information leak,” the man said with a sigh, shaking his head. “ _If_ he’s still alive, they’ll keep him in the basement levels of the Governor’s main office building. Depending on what they’re doing to him is what floor he’ll be on. The holding cells are on the lowest level, hardest to escape after all. The interrogation cells are on the floor above that. Torture the floor above that and if your friend is dead, which he is… well, you’ll probably find him somewhere very public, very soon.”

Mingi stopped himself from lashing out at the man because of his choice of words. He was done here. He didn’t need to waste another minute of his time with this scumbag.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Mingi said flatly. He stood up and without another word, moved to leave the room entirely.

“Hey, hey, what about me? What now?” The man asked. Mingi stopped before he left the room, his hand on the door handle.

“I believe I already told you,” he started. “You and your friends will be dropped off with the police.”

“No no no, you can’t do that to us! They’ll kill us! You can’t—” Mingi left the room before he could hear any more of the man’s protests. He shut the door and made sure it was locked up tight before turning around with a sigh.

Before he was able to go any further, he froze in his tracks. Yunho was standing next to the one-way mirror that overlooked the room Mingi had just been in. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Mingi looked away and began to leave once more. He couldn’t face him. Not now. Not after everything that had happened.

After everything Ghost had shared with them at yesterday’s meeting and after everything that had happened in the past week, Mingi felt even more like he didn’t deserve the people he had in his life. He couldn’t even keep them safe. He was completely powerless in the face of danger. He wasn’t smart like Yeosang or Yunho, or strong like Jongho, or charismatic like San and Wooyoung, people didn’t rally behind him like they do Hongjoong and Ghost was in a league completely all his own when it came to skill level. What did Mingi even offer the team? Why did they keep someone like him around? Mingi sure didn’t understand it and he knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of the team realized it too… Before Yunho realized it too. He had to get himself ready for that kind of heartbreak; he could handle it when he was ready. Now was just not the time.

“Hey,” Yunho said quietly, grabbing Mingi’s wrist before he could leave entirely. Mingi stopped but did not turn around; he would break down the minute he looked at Yunho again. He was already on the verge of tears as it was. It took all his will-power not to shake like a leaf. “Are you okay?”

Mingi only nodded, not trusting his voice. It would surely give him away.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” Yunho continued, his voice barely above a whisper. He hated how upset his boyfriend sounded, hated that he was the cause of it. He just needed a little more time.

“I’m fine,” Mingi said; though, it couldn’t have been very convincing. His voice cracked over the words.

“No you’re clearly not,” Yunho said, beginning to sound angry. “I’ve never seen you act like that in an interrogation. You threatened to shoot a man point-blank.”

“I wouldn’t have done it.”

“Are you sure?” Yunho asked. “Because I’m not.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m worried about you, Mingi,” Yunho said, he sounded so desperate. Mingi refused to turn around. “We’ve told each other everything since we met. I know you well enough to know when something’s wrong and when you’re hiding something from me.”

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“And now you’re lying to me.”

“Please… I just need a little more time…”

“Time for what, Mingi?”

He broke down, the dam holding back his emotions gave way.

“Time to be ready for when you realize you deserve better!”

Yunho didn’t say anything for a moment and Mingi didn’t dare turn around. He couldn’t bear to see Yunho’s reaction.

“Mingi… What?”

“I never understood it,” Mingi continued, just unloading everything he had kept locked away for years. It had been building up for so long, he should’ve known it was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down on him. “I never understood why someone as smart, talented and as amazing as you are would settle for someone like me. I can’t do anything right and I definitely can’t keep the people I love safe, that much is clear. I’m not smart, I’m not strong, I’m not charismatic, not brave, and I’m far from what someone like you deserves. I—”

Mingi’s voice caught in his throat as he realized he was crying. A sob wracked through his body, but he didn’t even try to stop it. This was the first time he had ever cried in front of Yunho… yet another weakness to stack on the growing pile against him.

“I’m never going to be good enough for you,” Mingi choked out. He felt strong arms wrap around him as he was pulled into Yunho’s chest. He opened his eyes in surprise, looking up at Yunho to find that he too was crying.

“Oh Mingi,” he cooed, pulling him as close as he could. “I should’ve realized this was what you were worried about sooner.”

“What?” Mingi was truly lost. Yunho pulled away enough to look down at Mingi, his eyes full of sympathy and love.

“You seem to have everything backward,” he started. “I don’t deserve you.”

“I—I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“Not smart? Mingi who was it that had managed to lose those Agony agents when I was the one panicking?”

Yunho waited for an answer.

“Me…?”

“And who was the first person willing to trade his life for a kid he’s not even related to?”

“Me…”

“Who is it that, without fail, always manages to get information out of even the toughest of adversaries?”

“Me.”

“Who was it who always offered to help me even when his own problems were way bigger, who helped raise a child who absolutely adores him and who would do anything for the people he loves even if it means his own downfall?”

“…Me…”

“And who was it that had managed to weasel his way into my heart and plant himself so firmly there that there’s no way I’m ever letting him go?”

Mingi didn’t say anything this time, tears cascading down his face for a totally different reason now.

“Not good enough for me?” Yunho asked, tears filling his eyes again as his voice broke over his next words. “Mingi, you are _everything_ to me. I love you so… so much that I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Mingi let another sob escape as he latched onto Yunho like his life depended on it. He was overcome with emotions but most of all he felt utterly relieved. He loved Yunho with everything he had, to lose him would be something he’d never recover from. To know that Yunho felt the same was his salvation.

“I love you,” Mingi sobbed into his chest.

“I love you, too,” Yunho agreed, pulling Mingi all that much closer to himself. “Promise you’ll tell me when you start feeling this way from now on.”

“I promise,” Mingi whispered.

“I thought I was losing you,” Yunho admitted.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Neither am I.”

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, calming the other down. It couldn’t have been longer than a few minutes, but it felt like a healing lifetime. All their troubles felt miles away.

Then they both heard Yeosang clear his throat through their earpieces.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your moment,” he said quietly. “But we’re about to start discussing the plan for Wooyoung’s rescue.”

Yunho cleared his throat.

“We’ll be up in a moment,” he told him.

“Were you listening the whole time?” Mingi asked quietly, worried that he had just broadcasted his deepest insecurities to the entire team.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Yeosang answered and then the other end went dead. Yeosang was a good friend, Mingi decided.

They let go of one another then.

“We should go help,” Yunho said and Mingi nodded. He held out his hand, waiting for Yunho to take it before he made any move to leave. Yunho took it with the biggest of smiles on his face, one Mingi couldn’t help but return. They went to join the others, hand in hand, together.

~Wooyoung~

Wooyoung was awoken by the sound of a door creaking open from down the hall. His eyes were heavy; he couldn’t have been asleep for more than an hour. Groaning quietly, he turned over in his cell’s uncomfortable bed to face the wall to the best of his ability. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep; he’d wanted to be awake and alert for when any more Agony agents came to pay him a visit. After his talk yesterday with Seonghwa, the very few agents that he interacted with had gotten bolder. Despite Seonghwa having told him that he wasn’t going to let Agony kill him, to keep up appearances—or so he said anyway—Seonghwa had still told the organization that they wouldn’t get anything useful from him. He’d been very clearly marked for death due to his lack of cooperation and everyone knew it. The agents who brought him his meals sneered at him more, called him creative insults; one of them last night had thrown his food tray at him instead of just sliding it under the bars. Wooyoung wasn’t going to have eaten it anyway but it still hadn’t been a pleasant experience.

He hadn’t seen Seonghwa since yesterday so the only even remotely pleasant presence in his life right now was the woman from his initial interrogation. He wasn’t entirely sure why she treated him like an actual human being when she had no reason to, but he appreciated it nonetheless. She’d told him some rather terrifying information when he had asked how exactly Agony was going to kill him.

“Normally, it’s just a quick shot to the head,” the woman had answered. Wooyoung really didn’t like that there was clearly a “but” coming next. “But recently, the organization’s developed a new punishment system and… they think you’re the perfect candidate to test run it…”

“What is it, exactly?” Wooyoung had asked. He had a bad feeling about this one.

“You ever heard of those completely soundproof rooms? You know, the ones that are so quiet you can hear your own heartbeat and the blood rushing through your ears?”

Wooyoung had nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“Well, we have something a little like that now.” She spoke quietly like she was ashamed to be associated with the organization she worked for. “The rooms aren’t quite as severe so that the descent into madness takes longer…”

“So how will that kill me?” Wooyoung had asked, though he could’ve probably guessed the answer to his own question.

“They’ll give you a gun,” the woman had said. “With a single bullet inside.”

What an awful way to go, Wooyoung thought. He really hoped it didn’t come to that, really hoped Seonghwa hadn’t been lying to him, that his team would be able to find him and infiltrate wherever he was being held without getting hurt in the process. It was a lot to hope for, he knew, but it was all he had. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to contain his emotions as best as he could as he wrapped his arms tightly around himself. He didn’t want to die in a place like this… not without seeing San one last time. His smile, the feeling of being wrapped in his arms, the sound of his voice…

He had to think about something else. Someone—or a pair of someones if the sound of footsteps was anything to go by—had entered the holding cell hallway; they were heading his way. He didn’t want to look weak to any of these agents. If he was going to die, he’d go with dignity, protecting his friends and loved ones to the bitter end.

He didn’t bother turning back around to face the doorway; if they wanted his attention, they’d get it when they got here.

“Wooyoung!?” he heard a voice call out to the hallway. What…?

“You idiot, just because I said that the cameras were shut off doesn’t mean you can go yelling like that,” a second voice scolded.

Wooyoung recognized these voices. They were modulated a little differently than normal, but it was unmistakable. He clambered out of his bed, practically crumbling to the ground as his battered limbs weren’t ready to support his weight. He pushed through the fatigue and the pain, forcing himself to walk up to the bars of his cell. He collapsed against them, catching himself upright before he fell.

“San!” Wooyoung yelled as loud as he dared back.

The footsteps broke out into a full sprint at Wooyoung’s shout and in a matter of seconds, San was in front of him. He was wearing an Agony standard uniform, complete with his own white dog mask and everything, but Wooyoung would recognize him anywhere.

“Holy shit, Wooyoung,” San cooed, pulling off his mask before reaching through the little gaps in the bars to touch him. Wooyoung could’ve cried right then and there seeing his beautiful face again. “What have they done to you?”

“I’m fine, I promise,” Wooyoung answered, though his voice was still hoarse. A multitude of emotions passed through San’s face. He looked heartbroken, frustrated, furious like he would do anything to get back at the people who had hurt him.

The owner of the second voice came up to the bars next. Wooyoung’s suspicions were confirmed for a second time. Though he was also dressed in an Agony standard uniform as well, no one else on the team had a form built like Ghost’s. Guess Seonghwa hadn’t been lying after all. His feelings towards the man were constantly being thrown into confusion with every new thing he said and did.

“We need to get moving, fast,” Ghost explained. He pulled out a keycard and swiped it through the device next to Wooyoung’s cell. “I downloaded a bug onto their servers to shut down their cameras, but they’ll be noticing any minute now.”

The cell door slid open and the second the gap was wide enough, San was flinging himself through it and latching onto Wooyoung tightly. He completely ignored everything Ghost had just said in favor of holding onto him like his life depended on it.

“You… You have no idea how worried I was,” he choked out. “Why did you leave me like that, Wooyoung? You could’ve… You could’ve…”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Wooyoung said, grabbing San back and holding on tightly despite how bad it hurt.

“But it’s not okay! I thought I’d lost you without ever getting to say it back,” he said, burying his face in Wooyoung’s neck as his shoulders shook like he was about to start crying.

“What…?”

San pulled away, sniffling quietly, eyes full of unshed tears as he looked at Wooyoung.

“That night… when you went to visit Eden without me. I was pretending to be asleep because I was hoping you’d stay but instead… you said that you loved me and left,” San began. Wooyoung held his breath. “I’ve been trying to find a way to say it back but I… I couldn’t and then you went and did this—”

“I love you,” Wooyoung said suddenly, cutting San’s ramblings off. San melted into his arms, instantly latching back onto him just as tight as before. Oh god. He’d been such an idiot. All this time, they’d both been oblivious…

“I love you, too,” he choked out.

“I don’t know what part about ‘we need to move fast’ you two just didn’t understand but we don’t have time for this,” Ghost cut in. Wooyoung remembered himself. They were standing in a holding cell at the lowest floor of an Agony prison. There would be another time for this. “As touching as your reunion is, we need to go. Now.”

“Right,” San agreed, letting go of Wooyoung and composing himself. As he began to situate his borrowed mask back on his face, Wooyoung turned to Ghost as he asked:

“What’s the plan?”

“We’re going to pretend to be the agents escorting you to your final destination. The real escort, however, hasn’t been scheduled yet but no one who we could potentially run into would know that,” Ghost began. “Obviously, we’re not actually going to bring you to the execution chambers, but we are going to that floor to keep up appearances. From there, there’s an access stairwell that no one uses that will take us up out of the building.”

“Do you think it will work?” Wooyoung asked.

“I sure hope so, it’s the best plan I could come up with on such short notice.”

He nodded in understanding.

“Let’s get to it, then.”

“Right, we’re going to have to handcuff you, though,” Ghost said; he unclipped the silver cuffs from his belt. “But they’re fake just in case we run into trouble.”

Wooyoung put his hands behind his back, allowing Ghost to gently attach the bindings. He didn’t put them nearly as tight as the other agents had, being very mindful of the raw skin around his wrists. Then, the man grabbed his right arm, careful not to grab any noticeably hurt areas. San grabbed onto his other arm. They were ready to go.

They walked briskly down the hall; well, as fast as they could with Wooyoung’s battered body but also not too fast so as not to raise suspicion should they run into anyone.

“You mentioned that no one who knows that there isn’t a schedule yet would run into us,” Wooyoung started as they walked down the empty holding cell hallway. He had suddenly been reminded of something.

“Yeah, what of it?”

“What about Seonghwa?”

Ghost snorted.

“You and I both know why he won’t be a problem,” Ghost said. He then tacked on so that San wouldn’t ask any questions: “He should be at school right now. Hongjoong was going to distract him if he happened to find him on campus.”

Wooyoung kept quiet after that. He wasn’t sure what to do with the knowledge that both Ghost and Seonghwa had shared with him but apparently not his team. That was a problem for a later time when they weren’t walking through a hotbed of enemy activity.

They maneuvered through the floor with relative ease; they encountered no one as they went. That wasn’t very surprising. Wooyoung was pretty sure he had been Agony’s only current prisoner. They turned one final corner and then the elevators were in sight. So far, so good.

When they were around ten feet away, the light above the device lit up and a pleasant dinging rang through the empty hall. San and Ghost grabbed him a little more harshly for the act. Wooyoung hung his head to complete the look of an unwilling prisoner.

“Don’t panic and let me do the talking,” Ghost whispered before the door slid slowly open. Three Agony agents were inside and exited just as the three of them came right up to the elevator.

“What’s going on here?” One of the agents asked. Wooyoung didn’t think it was a good sign that all three had boar masks instead of the usual dog ones that came to visit him.

“I’m taking the prisoner to the silence chambers,” Ghost said, authority in his voice despite the high stress.

“Oh, are you now?” Another spoke up. If only San and Ghost had managed to get ahold of some masks of a higher rank so that their actions couldn’t be questioned. “I wasn’t informed of this new development.”

“That’s because he’s not your prisoner anymore,” Ghost shot right back. Wooyoung held back a snort of laughter. So this was the same asshole from before. Wonderful. He really enjoyed it when people put these arrogant assholes in their place.

“Property of Park Seonghwa,” Wooyoung teased, unable to help himself.

“Shut up,” San hissed, using his fake angry voice and jostling him gently. It felt more playful than threatening.

“Let me see your credentials, Agent,” the man snarled.

Ghost let go of Wooyoung’s arm with a sigh. He pulled off his right glove and rolled up his sleeve. He extended his own arm, the inside of his wrist visible for everyone to see. Tattooed right below his palm in faded black ink were three large numbers. 902. Directly below that, he was shocked to see dozens of tally marks spanning all the way up to his forearm and disappearing beneath his sleeve. He knew what the tally marks meant: one for each successful kill and there had to be close to a hundred visible and even more up and out of sight. How terrifying. What he didn’t know, was what the numbers meant. Obviously, they had to be how Agony identified each of its agents but whose were they? They couldn’t have been Ghost’s credentials from when he had still been a part of Agony. Surely, Agony would recognize numbers that belonged to a rank of agent that no longer existed. And judging by the other agents’ immediate reaction, they must’ve meant something pretty important.

“Ah, we’re very sorry, sir,” the agent apologized immediately. The three of them began bowing to further their sincerity.

“We didn’t recognize you. Please, we’re very sorry,” they continued.

“Why are you wearing the wrong mask?” The third asked.

“I don’t see how that concerns you, Agent,” Ghost said. “Back to work.”

“Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!” They all agreed immediately and left their presence just as quickly.

Wow. The power those numbers held. Who’s were they that would justify that kind of reaction?

Wooyoung waited till they were safely alone in the elevator before he decided to say anything.

“Whose are those? They aren’t yours, are they?”

“No, I’ve had mine removed for some time now. These are fake. I figured I should be prepared just in case,” Ghost answered, putting his glove back on and righting his sleeve.

“Who’s are they?” Wooyoung asked again. Strange that he would avoid the question…

“That’s not important,” Ghost said. “Let’s just hope we don’t run into him.”

So it was a real person who those numbers belonged to. Wooyoung really wished he had paid attention when Yeosang had gone through how Agony agents operated. He couldn’t imagine there being too many high-ranking agents. He’d have to get Yeosang to explain it to him if they got out of here alive and intact. Maybe he could figure it out then.

They rode the last couple seconds up in silence, waiting patiently for the doors to open. The three of them exited the elevator to another empty hallway. Good. As Ghost had said, running into the man who’s credentials he had faked would not be good. The less they saw of other agents, the better.

“We just need to get to the end of the next hallway,” Ghost explained. “The staircase we need is there.”

“Then we’re home free,” San finished.

“Alright, let’s go,” Wooyoung agreed. The two of them grabbed back onto Wooyoung’s arms to once more lead him convincingly down the barren hallway. It was quiet on this level; though, he supposed that was the point of a floor dedicated to silence chambers. He didn’t like it. The holding cell level had at least had the mechanical sound of industrial lights humming quietly when there was no one around. This floor? Nothing.

They turned to the left at the first junction and just as Ghost had said, there was a door at the end of the hallway. Unlike what was discussed, however, there was a bit of an obstacle. Standing between them and their freedom was the last person Wooyoung had expected to run into. Ghost had said they wouldn’t need to worry about running into him and yet, here he was with a battalion of six other lower-leveled Agony agents behind him, guns trained forward. He was supposed to be at school, Hongjoong was supposed to have distracted him.

“You fucking liar,” Ghost snarled, letting go of Wooyoung in favor of pulling out his own gun to point at the leader of the group opposing them. Wooyoung decided to pull off his handcuffs, letting them clatter to the floor. Their plan had fallen apart a bit anyway. “I never should’ve trusted you.”

“That hurts, my friend,” Seonghwa laughed. “But what did you honestly expect?”

“What were you hoping to gain from this?” Wooyoung asked, deciding at this moment that once again he didn’t like Seonghwa; the snake…

“Luring Ghost out of hiding, eliminating the biggest threat to Agony,” Seonghwa explained. “ATEEZ won’t get very far without him, wouldn’t you agree?”

“You think I’ll be easy to kill?” Ghost asked.

“You’re five stories underground, let’s see who’s got the better chance,” Seonghwa said, then he addressed his next words to the agents around him, barking the orders: “Block all the exits, don’t let them escape!”

The Agony agents turned and ran towards the staircase behind them. Wooyoung, San, and Ghost didn’t stay any longer either, all of them ran back the way they had come. Running straight instead of turning to go back to the elevators, they needed a new plan and fast or else they were going to die here. Gunshots, presumably from Seonghwa’s weapon, echoed down the hall. None of them connected with anything which Wooyoung found strange. Seonghwa had been so skilled at everything else, it was hard to believe that none of his shots had landed anywhere near them. Almost like he was purposefully trying to miss…

Wooyoung’s thoughts were interrupted by San yelling:

“What do we do now?”

“We need to get two levels up,” Ghost explained. “There’s another door to the staircase there but we need to get there before they block it off.”

They didn’t waste any time, letting Ghost take the lead down the hallway. They rounded a corner, coming face to face with two Agony agents standing at the ready. Ghost and Wooyoung slid to a stop. Ghost moved to take aim, but San kept going, running head-on at the two opposing agents.

“San!” Wooyoung called out in worry, but it became clear the worry was ill-founded. San launched himself into the air, twisting with all the grace of a trained fighter and kicking his legs out at just the right time. Two kicks connected at each of the agents’ heads and they crumpled to the ground just as San landed perfectly back on his feet. The enemy didn’t even have a chance to react; they were out cold in three seconds flat.

“Holy shit,” Wooyoung exclaimed. He and San hardly ever got into fights working information on the street, so he had no idea he was capable of something like that. San pulled off his mask, discarding it on the ground as he turned back to look at Wooyoung with a playful smile.

“I’ve always wanted to do that on real targets. Took Taekwondo for sixteen years of my life,” he explained. “Sexy, right?”

“Oh you know it,” Wooyoung teased right back.

“Come on, there’s a staircase right back here,” Ghost interjected, and they were off again, stepping over the now unconscious Agony agents as they went. Down the hall, bursting through a door, charging up two flights of stairs and through another door. Wooyoung’s limbs were screaming at him, his lungs were on fire, he wasn’t in any condition to be exerting himself like this, but he had adrenaline coursing through his veins and no choice but to push forward. They followed Ghost as he quickly navigated through a twisting series of hallways. If it was weird that Ghost knew where he was going without a shred of hesitation, Wooyoung didn’t even have time to think about it. Countless right turns, endless lefts until they finally reached the dead-end they were looking for.

Seonghwa stood waiting for them, having beaten them to the door just like the last time. He was alone this time, holding his gun outright, posture determined and confident. The three of them came to a halt; Seonghwa didn’t open fire. What was he doing?

He’d had so many opportunities already to end this escape mission. He’d outnumbered them at the beginning, seven to three, but instead of ordering them to open fire and kill them right then and there, he’d sent all the agents away. He’d missed seven or eight straight shots as they’d ran away and didn’t even bother chasing after them. And now, three quick and accurate shots could end this and yet he stood doing nothing. It hit Wooyoung then, what he was doing.

San made a move to charge down the hallway like he had done before but Wooyoung grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. He gave him a confused look but didn’t fight him otherwise. Wooyoung stepped forward, passing Ghost who stood mirroring Seonghwa exactly, gun outstretched, posture determined and confident. Seonghwa regarded Wooyoung with a guarded expression, probably figuring Wooyoung of all people would understand what he was doing and why he had to do it. It would look suspicious, after all, if Wooyoung had escaped a tightly monitored Agony prison on Seonghwa’s watch with absolutely no opposition. He hadn’t sold them out, he was just trying to not get himself killed for letting Wooyoung escape. He remembered something Seonghwa had said back in their interrogation:

_I am solely responsible for you._

He hadn’t thought much of it at the time but now he realized it must’ve been a warning that he had to do what he had to do, or else Agony would kill him. He wondered if Seonghwa had purposefully asked pointed and obvious questions to get Wooyoung to realize what he was doing so that he didn’t accidentally give up valuable information while Seonghwa was just trying to make everything look convincing to the agents watching. He wondered what the punishment would be for failing to recapture him… He sure hoped he wouldn’t replace him as the test subject for Agony’s new toy.

“Come with us,” Wooyoung said to Seonghwa, halfway between Ghost and Seonghwa’s guns. He knew it was a long shot but there had to be a better outcome than this. Seonghwa wasn’t a bad guy, he was just surrounded by bad people. Surely, he didn’t deserve all this.

“We both know I can’t do that,” Seonghwa answered. “I’ll put up a convincing defense, but you’ll escape and we’ll both continue on with our lives.”

“Will they let you live?”

Seonghwa shrugged. He was guarding his emotions carefully, but Wooyoung could sense the remorse in his demeanor. Like he so badly wanted to drop everything, but something was holding him back.

“Why do you care if your enemy lives or dies?” Seonghwa teased darkly. He closed his eyes, resigning to his fate. “You might want to get out of the way.”

Wooyoung quickly ducked at his words, his eyes going wide as he watched the scene unfold. It felt like everything was moving in slow motion. Seonghwa moved like he was about to fire but Ghost was faster, pulling the trigger of his own gun and firing twice at the man blocking their path. Seonghwa didn’t even attempt to move out of the way, eyes closed as he braced himself. The bullets connected, one on his right shoulder, the other just a little lower. He let out a noise of pain, collapsing to the ground as electricity coursed through his body. Then he was still, nothing but shallow breaths to show that he was still alive.

“You just shot him!” Wooyoung cried in shock, turning to Ghost. The man looked onward, though Wooyoung couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. The white dog mask obstructed all of his features except for his black hair. San just looked confused next to him, lost and out of the loop completely.

“All part of the plan,” Ghost responded; though, he didn’t sound very happy with his own words. What was going on inside his head?

“Come on we need to leave before anyone not in the plan finds us.”

They didn’t linger. Wooyoung carefully stepped over Seonghwa’s unconscious body, feeling bad for just leaving him there like that after everything he had risked. He hoped they could have another chance at that last conversation…

They powered through the last few flights of stairs, coming out in a secluded alley where a car was waiting for them.

The adrenaline wore off as they drove back to their headquarters, his bruised and battered body giving up on him as he succumbed to the darkness. He leaned against San’s warmth, closing his eyes as he felt too mixed about what had happened to feel the joy of having escaped.

He hoped Seonghwa would be okay.

~Hongjoong~

Hongjoong buried his hands in his jacket pockets, trying his best to shield them from the cold, rainy weather. He walked the campus sidewalk briskly, hoping to get inside as quickly as possible before it really started raining. He had class in ten minutes; this would be the first time he showed up early all semester. His work, ATEEZ, had always come first. He only really took classes to keep pretending he was a normal guy in his real life, but ever since Ghost and San had successfully infiltrated and saved Wooyoung, ATEEZ had been laying low. It was the best thing to do right now even if doing nothing was driving him absolutely insane. The Governor was expecting an answer from them soon and if recapturing Wooyoung wasn’t answer enough, keeping out of the public eye was their best option until they delivered their newest message. It had to be obvious to Agony by now that ATEEZ wasn’t going to back down now that they had Wooyoung back, but the public didn’t know what had transpired behind the scenes.

News outlets and the media had gone absolutely insane over what had happened in that intersection last Monday. The story had been running nonstop all week, everyone impatiently waiting to see how ATEEZ would react to what had looked like a clear defeat. People were severely disappointed that ATEEZ had seemingly been bested as so many others before and though it killed the team to let everyone continue thinking that for now, Hongjoong couldn’t wait to yet again overcome all odds and restore the nation’s hope. But they had to play their cards right.

Despite having the knowledge that Agony did not, in fact, know as much as originally thought, the organization still outmatched them in literally every other category. Their anonymity was their only protection from complete destruction at this point. If a single Agony agent found out where they worked or who they were, the entire enemy organization would come down on them in an instant and they wouldn’t be able to combat that. All of them had practically moved into the warehouse to help protect that anonymity. He and Yeosang had poured countless funds into making their hideout as accessible as possible for this exact reason and he was very glad for it now.

So now their best move was to lay low, broadcast their message to Agony in the coming days, and then start hitting back as hard as they could before Agony found them. But this whole “laying low” thing was really proving easier said than done… at least for Hongjoong anyway.

Ghost hadn’t been back to the hideout ever since he disappeared after dropping Wooyoung and San off. He’d said that he was going to do some damage control but had given Hongjoong no further explanation before hopping on his bike and zooming away.

Yunho and Mingi had been diligently looking after their child, making sure that if he went anywhere one of them was always close by. That occupied most of their time seeing as they couldn’t just pull Gunho out of school.

Yeosang had been hard at work getting the warehouse back in proper working order after the break-in, right along with Jongho. Something had changed between the two of them, Hongjoong had noticed; though, he really wasn’t sure what to call any of it. He had always found the romantic aspect of social interaction rather hard to understand; he was just happy Yeosang was smiling more, even if he and Jongho argued over silly things all the time even more than usual now…

San hadn’t left Wooyoung’s side since he got back and Hongjoong had honestly expected nothing less. Wooyoung had slept for two days straight once back at the hideout and once he was awake once again, he’d recounted everything that had happened to him. This new information had been very interesting to learn, especially everything about Seonghwa.

Speaking of Seonghwa…

Hongjoong had spent the last five days since they got Wooyoung back constantly looking for the man. He figured since he was supposed to be laying low anyway, he could spend this time getting closer to the blond. There was still the possibility that Seonghwa would potentially invite Hongjoong into his house. In fact, that was the next step ATEEZ needed to get ahead of Agony once again. If they could download Yeosang onto their servers, or even just get ahold of valuable information, that would catapult them towards their end goal. So Hongjoong had thought that these days off would be a good chance to hopefully get close to, if not achieve, that goal. They’d been dating for a little over two weeks now, for all intents and purposes Seonghwa was basically his boyfriend at this point, even if Hongjoong’s intent and purpose was to infiltrate the Governor’s mansion. They’d only been on two official dates, but Hongjoong had spent countless hours on campus with the man, either silently studying together, having a lively chat between classes at a café, or coexisting in the same lecture with shared confused looks and snorts of barely concealed laughter when one of them did something stupid to make the other smile.

Unfortunately for him, however, Seonghwa had proven elusive for the last five days. He found this to be incredibly concerning considering the man hardly had gone ten minutes without texting him something cheesy the week before. To have him suddenly just go radio silent, to not show up to class or any of his usual places was wholly not right and Hongjoong hated to think about why he was missing.

Wooyoung had recounted everything Seonghwa had done at that Agony prison four times for him and the team as they desperately tried to make sense of the man’s actions. It just didn’t make any sense. Why in the world would he risk his life for Wooyoung? Hongjoong really didn’t want to think the shy sweetheart he spent so much time with was also capable of lying, murder, and everything sinister Agony was known for, but the picture Wooyoung had painted was a very cold and calculated one. He’d have to be careful from now on not to show his trepidation around the man upon learning this new information; Seonghwa would surely notice a change if Wooyoung’s story held any weight.

He remembered what Wooyoung had told him of Agony’s newest addition to their torture toy chest… he hated to think Seonghwa suffered through something like that as punishment for letting Wooyoung escape.

“He didn’t even sound sure that he would come out of it alive,” Wooyoung had said, clearly feeling mixed on Seonghwa’s strange allegiances as well. “I just hope that after everything he shielded me from, he doesn’t pay with his life.”

Hongjoong really hoped that too, and not just because ATEEZ still needed him for their plans to succeed. He really had gone and gotten entirely too attached to a man he should’ve considered an enemy…

That’s when he’d caught sight of a flash of blond through the dreary afternoon fog, instantly bringing him out of his thoughts as he walked through the practically empty campus.

He immediately broke out into a full-on sprint, trying to catch up to the man who had managed to occupy his thoughts more than anything else lately. He was shuffling slowly through the light drizzle, hardly seeming to care that by the time he got wherever he was going, he’d be drenched completely. His head hung, eyes trained on the ground. His clothes weren’t his normal fashionable and expensive ones; he was wearing sweatpants for the first time Hongjoong had ever seen and a black hoodie. His hair was unstyled and hung lifelessly as the rain matted it down. He really didn’t look good… Hongjoong picked up his pace.

“Seonghwa!” He called out when he was close enough for it not to be awkward. The man stopped upon hearing his name, turning to face Hongjoong just as he caught up to him and stopped to catch his breath. He had dark circles under his eyes and the bruise Wooyoung had mentioned on his left eye was on full display; he hadn’t even bothered to try and hide it. Hongjoong really hated seeing him in this state. “I’ve been so worried about you! I couldn’t find you anywhere and you weren’t returning my calls or answering texts—”

Seonghwa practically flung himself at Hongjoong, cutting off his rambling as he hugged Hongjoong with all that he had. Then, grabbing the back of his head gently, in the middle of campus, in full view of anyone happening by, Seonghwa kissed him.

That would be the second person in his life to just spontaneously kiss him and maybe he just had that kind of aura about him that drew in attractive men to kiss him, he didn’t know. But he had to say, this one was much more pleasant than the last. He was much more okay with this happening; this felt nice and sweet, and when Seonghwa’s lips started moving, he practically melted. He had no idea something so simple could feel so good.

He was able to reciprocate this time, not that he would’ve ever reciprocated Ghost’s kiss. He closed his eyes, placed his hands on the man’s chest, and followed Seonghwa’s lead.

When they pulled apart, Hongjoong was panting quietly, completely having forgotten to breathe for the past thirty seconds. This had been the first kiss they’d shared; he hadn’t really expected it to happen this way, either.

“Sorry,” Seonghwa was the first to speak, his voice quiet as if he were afraid to make too much noise. “I should’ve asked first, but I’ve just… missed you so much.”

Seonghwa wrapped himself around Hongjoong again, leaning heavily on him and burying his face in his shoulder. Immense worry echoed through his entire being. What had happened to him in the past five days?

“It’s okay,” Hongjoong decided. That kiss had left him breathless, after all; he’d enjoyed the spontaneity too much to be angry about it. It wasn’t quite the fantasy of being kissed in the pouring rain, but it was close enough that he was going to count it. “Are you okay, though? You look awful…”

Seonghwa only shook his head to indicate he didn’t want to talk about it, refusing to move from his current position.

 “You can tell me anything, you know,” he added.

“I know,” Seonghwa agreed, his voice muffled by Hongjoong’s sweatshirt. “And I promise I’ll tell you everything someday but not right now. I just want to enjoy this a little longer.”

Hongjoong got the feeling Seonghwa meant a lot more with that statement than just what was asked right now but he didn’t push the question. He too was guilty of wanting this to last just a little longer. He decided then, skipping a day of classes wouldn’t kill either of them.

“Alright,” Hongjoong agreed, perhaps holding Seonghwa a little tighter to show that he cared. “Do you want to come to my place? You look exhausted, we could take a nap or something…?”

Seonghwa let go of him then, looking down at him with a small smile. His traitorous heart skipped a beat.

“That sounds absolutely wonderful,” Seonghwa agreed. “But don’t you have class?”

“I never pay attention, anyway,” Hongjoong brushed off. “Come on.”

Hongjoong detached himself from the man, beginning to walk the way he had just come. Seonghwa followed eagerly, grabbing Hongjoong’s hand before he could go too far and lacing their fingers together. It was such a simple action, but it was the first time Seonghwa had been so bold in public. He didn’t know what horrible thing had happened to make the man this touch-starved, but he had to say that he rather enjoyed this clingier version of Seonghwa. He had no idea what he was doing when it came to things like this so having a partner who was willing to put himself out there first for Hongjoong to follow along was a blessing. It was almost a complete one-eighty to how their relationship usually went and completely unexpected from Seonghwa. Not that he was complaining.

They walked in silence down the sidewalk, off campus, and up the street a ways to the apartment building Hongjoong had called home since his parents had died.

He was suddenly hit with a wave of embarrassment upon releasing that Park Seonghwa, the second son of a literal billionaire, was about to walk into this almost condemned complex to his tiny one-room apartment. He really hadn’t thought this through, but he doubted Seonghwa would bring him to his home… He probably wanted to be as far away from his “family” as possible. So Hongjoong took a deep breath, leading Seonghwa through the front door of the decrepit building. He was very glad that, in his uneasy boredom, he’d cleaned his usually trashed home. At least it was somewhat more presentable than normal. Seonghwa, to his credit, out of politeness or pity, didn’t say anything about the state the building was in. Nothing on his face showed that he was disgusted or shocked to find out that this was where his partner lived, either.

“Just a quick disclaimer,” Hongjoong started as they got into the rusted elevator. He prayed that it wouldn’t get stuck for once in its miserable existence. “My home’s a little small. I don’t have a lot of money so like—”

“Hongjoong,” Seonghwa laughed, cutting him off before he could really start rambling on. He pulled him back into his arms as they rode slowly upwards. “I was an orphan for twelve years of my life before I was the ‘rich Park Seonghwa’. I literally do not care as long as you’re sure the floor won’t give out beneath us…”

Hongjoong giggled.

“I think I can promise you that.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Seonghwa said, smiling down at him oh-so beautifully. “I want to know everything about you.”

That might be hard to accomplish, Hongjoong thought but Seonghwa didn’t need to know that.

The elevator stopped on Hongjoong’s floor, but in its true shitty fashion, the doors only opened halfway for them to get out. They squeezed through, giggling the entire time over the ridiculousness of the situation. Then, Hongjoong led the two of them down the hallway to the room that was his. The door was a faded blue with strips of paint completely missing and the numbers illegible. The lock was broken so that if you just jiggled the handle a little the door would open, and one swift kick would surely send the poor thing flying off its hinges, but it wasn’t like Hongjoong had anything valuable stored here anyway. It was just a place to keep his clothes and occasionally sleep.

Once inside, Hongjoong was greeted by the familiar sight. Neon light from signs on nearby buildings illuminated the room, pouring in from the open window. His bed was pushed up against the far wall just underneath the small window. Between them and the bed, against the left wall, was his small makeshift kitchen that he was almost certain he had never actually used for cooking food. The other wall held his closet, a desk with his laptop, and a door to the even smaller bathroom. That was it. All of life’s bare necessities shoved into one 250 square foot room. He didn’t spend much time here, so it really didn’t need to be very big, to begin with, but he liked the place well enough. It had been home for almost eleven years.

“Tada,” Hongjoong gestured dramatically to the room. It had been much more well-maintained than the rest of the building. It almost didn’t look like it belonged in a building like this and Hongjoong prided himself in keeping it looking nice for no one in particular but himself. It was nice to come home to a clean apartment whenever he did return here.

He tried to turn the light on so that they would be able to see better but nothing happened. Hongjoong sighed deeply wondering if the lightbulb was out or if the building’s electricity had been shut off again as Seonghwa only giggled at him.

“It’s perfect,” he said. “Small and cute, just like its owner.”

Hongjoong snorted at the awfully cheesy line but felt himself blushing despite himself.

“That was awful.”

Seonghwa only shrugged, still smiling sweetly over at him. They stepped further into the room so that Hongjoong could close the door behind them.

“So…” Hongjoong started. He really wasn’t sure how to go about this. This was the first time someone besides himself had ever been in here. Hongjoong had offered initially for them to take a nap together since it definitely looked like Seonghwa hadn’t slept in days, but he was unsure how he should go about this. The anxiety probably didn’t do him any favors either… This was a big step, he thought. Inviting another person to share his bed… especially one he was romantically involved with. He didn’t know if Seonghwa had any expectations of him.

“You promised me a nap, I believe,” Seonghwa smiled, probably immediately picking up on Hongjoong’s awkwardness.

“Yeah,” Hongjoong agreed. He moved to sit on the edge of his bed, kicking off his shoes as he went. Seonghwa followed his lead, toeing out of his shoes before pulling off his hoodie and placing it carefully on the back of Hongjoong’s desk chair. Hongjoong couldn’t help but stare at him for a moment. Seonghwa had always been so expensively dressed up until this point, his hair perfectly styled and his complexion flawless. But how he stood now in Hongjoong’s room, he looked… so painfully normal. Baggy sweatpants, a t-shirt that hung off his skinny frame, his hair hanging in his eyes, even the bruise on his left eye. Sure, he was still abnormally handsome, but if Seonghwa had never been adopted by the Governor, he and Hongjoong would be one and the same. It made him a little sad to think that in another life, they could’ve actually had a chance.

He laid down on his bed, getting comfortable on his side as he waited for Seonghwa to join him. His bed was rather small; it was going to be a tight fit.

He watched Seonghwa come closer to him, admiring the normalcy of the situation. Agony and ATEEZ were miles from Hongjoong’s mind, which was quite the feat in and of itself. Then something caught his eye. On Seonghwa’s right wrist, from just below his palm all the way up to the middle of his forearm was a whole lot of faded, black ink. He’d never noticed it before as Seonghwa had always been wearing long sleeves; he figured that was by design so he didn’t broadcast his Agony affiliation to the entire world at every time of the day. Just beneath his palm, were the numbers 902 in large black font. Remembering the lessons Yeosang had gone over a long time ago, he knew the numbers to mean rank 9, agent number 2. He assumed Seonghwa’s brother would’ve been the first agent instated into rank 9. But that wasn’t what struck him as odd. It was the forty or so groups of five tally marks spanning the rest of the space that unsettled him quite a bit. He knew what that meant too but he really didn’t want to think about it.

He was thankfully taken out of his thoughts before he could spiral any further into that rabbit hole of thought as Seonghwa climbed into the bed and crawled over him. He situated himself behind Hongjoong, also laying on his side and wrapping an arm around his waist. He pulled him flush against him, his back pressed against the other’s chest. Seonghwa immediately made himself comfortable, burrowing his face in the back on Hongjoong’s neck, inhaling deeply and sighing contently. Seonghwa was so warm, his body behind him sturdy and strong. He smelled pleasantly like fabric softener, reminding Hongjoong of simpler times. He relaxed into his embrace, enjoying this moment for what it was. It really wouldn’t have taken him long at all to fall asleep… if it hadn’t been for the fact that Seonghwa tickled the back of his neck with every breath he took.

It wasn’t like it tickled him in a way that made him feel like laughing. No, this was a new… _different_ kind of feeling. Every breath sent a shiver of goosebumps down his spine, settling all the way down his arms, pooling in his stomach, and curling his toes. Seonghwa nuzzled against his neck, giving another happy sigh, completely ignorant to what he was doing to him. Hongjoong couldn’t help it, he shivered noticeably in Seonghwa’s arms, his eyes closing at the blissful feeling, breath becoming deeper involuntarily.

“Sorry,” Seonghwa laughed, his voice deep and resonating wonderfully in Hongjoong’s ears. “Are you ticklish?”

Hongjoong didn’t really know how to answer that question. On the one hand, he didn’t want to admit that he _really_ liked the way that had felt but he also really didn’t want to say yes in case it prompted Seonghwa to stop.

Then, being a horrible tease, Seonghwa blew on his neck, slowly and purposefully just to see his reaction. He shivered again, unable to reign in his reactions.

“No,” he answered truthfully, his voice sounding strained and uneven. “It actually feels really nice…”

Seonghwa hummed in acknowledgment, pulling him just a little closer, tightening his grip around him. He felt an entirely new sensation then, one that pulled a shocked gasp from him before he could stop himself. Seonghwa pressed a kiss to the nape of his neck; a jolt of electricity went down his spine this time. He was sure he had visible gooseflesh all over his body by this point. Oh god, this man was going to kill him.

He kept on kissing him, his mouth hot on his neck, wet and sinfully wonderful. When he moved from the back to the side of his neck, Hongjoong bit back a moan, eyes closing once more in pure bliss as he stretched his neck to give him more access. He felt teeth graze his skin next and suddenly another area of his body was very interested in what was beginning to transpire. He wanted to feel embarrassed by his quick and very easy arousal but Seonghwa’s lips on his skin felt too wonderful for him to think on it for too long.

Seonghwa latched onto his pulse point, sucking gently and nipping carefully, definitely trying to leave a bruise. Hongjoong didn’t even bother trying to hold back the moan this elicited; Seonghwa’s intentions were very clear at this point. Seonghwa chuckled at the sound, the arm slung around his waist began to wander as he maneuvered his other arm under Hongjoong as well.

“You’re so cute,” he cooed, blowing on the now raw skin he had created. Hongjoong shivered again, feeling one of Seonghwa’s hands play with the edge of the waistband of his sweatpants. He asked before he went any further: “Is this alright?”

“Yeah,” Hongjoong said, nodding enthusiastically. Now obviously since Hongjoong hadn’t ever had time for a relationship before, he’d also never had anyone else touch him like this before. He didn’t know what he was expecting but it certainly was not the sensation that was the feeling of Seonghwa’s large hand finding its way into his boxers and carefully gripping his hardening cock. Seonghwa’s mouth was back on his neck, leaving wet kisses on every inch of skin he could reach as he began stroking at a slow pace.

Hongjoong was on cloud-nine, his nerves on fire as pleasure coursed through his entire body. He didn’t even bother trying to cover up his moans any longer, letting them flow freely from his mouth with every jolt of pleasure from Seonghwa’s hand and mouth. He picked up his pace; his other hand coming up to run underneath his shirt as he bit down harshly at the junction of his neck and shoulder.

“S-Seonghwa,” Hongjoong moaned, probably a lot louder than he should’ve been considering he had neighbors, but he couldn’t help it. His hips bucked at the feeling, accidentally grinding his hips against Seonghwa’s in the process. Hongjoong was then struck with the realization that Seonghwa, too, was very interested in what was happening as well if the hardness he had felt against his ass was anything to go by.

“Fuck,” Seonghwa practically growled, moaning at the friction Hongjoong had created. And holy hell was that the sexiest thing he had ever heard. Feeling emboldened, Hongjoong pulled Seonghwa’s hand off him before he flipped over onto his other side to face the man. His face was flushed red, eyes half-lidded and pupils blown wide with lust. Seeing him so affected even though Hongjoong had done nothing to him at all was exhilarating. He surged forward, planting his mouth firmly on Seonghwa’s. They kissed deeply, tongues immediately mingling between their open mouths as they pulled each other as close as they possibly could. Seonghwa was just as frantic as Hongjoong for any kind of touch, riling each other up even further with their fervent kisses. Hongjoong buried his hands in Seonghwa’s soft, blond locks, loving the noises of pleasure he got for pulling occasionally on the strands. Seonghwa grabbed Hongjoong’s ass firmly with both hands, kneading it harshly and forcing their erections to rub together wonderfully.

A few more harsh grabs and both of them were moaning into each other’s mouths at the feeling. Hongjoong’s head spun as he felt Seonghwa push him backward, forcing him onto his back before climbing on top of him. Hongjoong had never felt smaller with Seonghwa’s larger body simply engulfing him in the most pleasant of ways. He ground his hips against Hongjoong’s, lips reattaching to Hongjoong’s neck to continue marking it up. Hongjoong gripped the man’s hair harshly, pulling whenever Seonghwa bit down on his skin, both of them panting harshly.

“You’re so—fuck,” Seonghwa groaned against his skin, picking up his pace as they both chased an orgasm that was fast approaching. “So sexy.”

Hongjoong felt a jolt of pleasure at the praise, unable to do anything more than whimper, overwhelmed by everything that had escalated so quickly. Neither of them lasted much longer from there on out. The feeling of their bodies against one another bringing them over the moon, calling each other’s names in the heat of the moment.

Seonghwa collapsed to the side so he didn’t squish Hongjoong beneath him, panting hard as he came down from his high. Hongjoong watched him through half-lidded eyes, mind still foggy with lust as he basked in the feeling of post-orgasmic bliss. The man’s blond hair stuck to his face in certain places, sweat covering his tan skin that glowed in the neon light from the window. His eyes were closed, his kiss-swollen lips parted as he tried to catch his breath, a hand coming up to run through his hair.

“Beautiful,” Hongjoong breathed, though he had only meant to think it in his head. Seonghwa opened his eyes at the word, instantly meeting Hongjoong’s. He smiled at him and Hongjoong didn’t blame his heart for skipping a beat this time around. He had to accept it now… he was way too far gone than he ever should’ve let himself get. But at this moment… he really couldn’t find it in himself to care.

“So are you,” Seonghwa told him. Hongjoong leaned up to kiss him gently once more, smiling through the whole thing before he got up out of the bed in search of fresh clothes for the two of them. He knew for a fact he had absolutely no pants that would fit Seonghwa seeing as almost none of his pants even fit him properly, but he was sure a pair of boxers would do for the time being. It’s not like either of them had any intention of leaving anytime soon, anyway. Seonghwa had a tiny waist, he didn’t think it’d be a problem. “What are you doing?”

“Changing,” Hongjoong answered, stepping into the bathroom just to be out of Seonghwa’s line of sight while he changed. It probably wasn’t necessary, but he couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed to get changed in front of the man. Neither of them had gotten undressed during that escapade so he still felt like he shouldn’t be so bold as to strip in front of Seonghwa. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not sleeping with a mess in my pants.”

“I understand,” Seonghwa said. His voice sounded closer and when Hongjoong turned around once he was finished pulling on his new pair of underwear, he found Seonghwa leaning against the doorframe. He blushed, not wanting to even ask how long he’d been standing there out of embarrassment.

He handed Seonghwa the pair he’d pulled for him before retreating back to his bed. He undid the sheets this time before getting in, pulling them up over his legs as he waited for Seonghwa to join him once more. He had to wait but a few moments more, before Seonghwa was falling into the blankets next to him, curling up on Hongjoong’s chest, head resting right where his heart was and legs intertwining with his. He was a little surprised by this development but found he quite liked holding the man like this; he wrapped the arm Seonghwa was laying on around his shoulders.

They laid in silence for a moment, basking in each other’s presence and enjoying the feeling of extreme relaxation that came with the aftermath of an orgasm.

“Hongjoong, can I ask you something?” Seonghwa started, the first to break the silence. Hongjoong raised his eyebrows without opening his eyes, humming quietly to indicate that he was listening. “There’s this event coming up… a fundraiser thing that my father hosts every year.”

Hongjoong opened his eyes, looking down at Seonghwa expectantly. Seonghwa wasn’t looking at him, instead focused on his finger tracing patterns on Hongjoong’s chest.

“I want you to be my date,” he said. _Excellent._ Hongjoong thought even though a pang of guilt echoed through him at the same time.

“What about your family? Do they know that you… that you’re…” Hongjoong asked, wondering why Seonghwa would out himself to his family in such a public way.

“They’re going to have to find out one way or another,” Seonghwa mumbled. “And you’re… you’re special to me… I want you to actually be my boyfriend.”

Hongjoong didn’t say anything for a moment; Seonghwa took that as hesitance.

“But only if you want to… I’m not going to force you to do anything…”

“I don’t have anything to wear to a fancy party,” Hongjoong said. Seonghwa looked up at him, eyes wide as he realized what Hongjoong was saying. His eyes were so full of hope that Hongjoong really wished they could’ve met under different circumstances. This was awful.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Seonghwa said. “So is that a…?”

“Yes, to both,” Hongjoong agreed with a smile. Seonghwa instantly broke out into an even brighter one. Guilt settled seemingly permanently in Hongjoong’s stomach. “I want to be there for you.”

Seonghwa settled back down onto Hongjoong’s chest, sighing contently. Hongjoong hoped he would forgive him for what he had to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! It took a lot longer than planned but it's done and I'll be hard at work on the chapter by the time you read this sooo wish me luck! I'll certainly try my best. 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter! @AAvery151  
> Follow my Beta on Twitter! @TrashKing52  
> I have a curious cat now too! Link can be found on twitter!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and for all your support!  
> All comments appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

~Mingi~

“Alright, let’s go through it one more time. Just to make sure I’ve got it,” Hongjoong said, clapping his hands together definitively. “Then, I’ve got to go.”

“No problem,” Yunho agreed. Mingi nodded as well. He sat forward in his chair, leaning his elbows against the table as he prepared to go through the plan one more time. Hongjoong would be going into the Governor’s mansion tomorrow, having finally gained from Seonghwa what they had set out to get from him in the first place. However, as everyone had seen on numerous occasions, Hongjoong was entirely too easy to read. The mansion would certainly be crawling with high-ranking Agony agents and security so if Hongjoong got caught trying to sneak around without a plan of attack going in, there was no way he’d be able to convincingly lie his way out of the situation. Normally, Yunho and Mingi would be running a mission like this but there was no way the two of them could go anywhere near the Governor’s mansion. No, Hongjoong would be going in alone, into a den of enemies with a very dangerous enemy as his date. So instead, to help him get through this situation as problem-free as possible, Mingi and Yunho had been tasked with helping him come up with a general plan of attack. Obviously, they couldn’t plan for everything, but if Hongjoong at least had an idea of what to do going in, he’d be able to work from there. One could never be too careful when dealing with the Governor and his closest cohorts; they’d all learned that the hard way.

“So when you first get to the mansion, you’re going to want to blend in. Hang around Seonghwa for a bit and just get a general feel for the atmosphere. If people know you’re with Seonghwa, they’ll probably be less likely to mess with you,” Yunho started from the beginning once more.

“It’ll probably be safe to assume that everyone there has ties to Agony in some way. Whether they’re an agent or a business partner doesn’t change their level of dangerousness, however. You could potentially learn some useful information there, too, but don’t follow anyone. That’s not why you’re going in and it’s too risky to justify it,” Mingi continued.

“It’s probably best if you avoid contact with Seonghwa’s older brother and the Governor as much as possible, too. You mentioned before that you were once an Agony agent, right? So it’s possible that a high-ranking agent could recognize your name or face,” Yunho said. Mingi noticed the man had started bobbing his knee, hands clasped tightly in front of him on the desk. He probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. They were all nervous… this mission was the riskiest they’d ever carried out. Hongjoong would be going in completely alone and there was the possibility he wouldn’t be coming out alive. Mingi placed his hand on Yunho’s thigh, stopping his movements and hopefully soothing him a bit. It served a dual purpose, stopping Mingi from anxiously picking at his own cuticles, too.

Hongjoong opened his mouth to say something in response but before he could get anything out, a loud snort cut him off. Mingi rolled his eyes; he’d almost forgotten about the fourth member of this little meeting. Ghost had insisted on helping as his first task back at ATEEZ headquarters in over a week. Mingi couldn’t say he had missed the man’s presence and he had been wholly unhelpful so far during this meeting. He’d been quiet for a while now—which, ironically, had been the most helpful he’d been so far. He wasn’t even seated at the table with the rest of them; instead, he was perched sideways in a desk chair in the corner of the room, seemingly sulking like a five-year-old over the prospect of Hongjoong thinking of another man all day long. He had made it very clear that he didn’t like discussing Hongjoong’s date with Seonghwa. Mingi really didn’t understand Ghost at all or what his angle was with his constant flirtatious behavior towards Hongjoong. Could he not see the urgency of the situation they were in? Could he not read the room and understand that his melodramatic jealous behavior was completely out of place with the seriousness of the situation they were discussing? Surely, he had better things to be doing than making an already anxious group of people more annoyed and frustrated than they needed to be on top of everything else.

“Do you have something useful to add?” Yunho asked. Mingi could tell he was getting annoyed with the man’s antics as well. He squeezed his thigh under the table, warning him not to react too harshly. Mingi was thoroughly convinced that all Ghost was looking for was a reaction.

“Hongjoong’s file within Agony is one: highly classified because of the rank his parents were at and the rank he was slated to start at so only those of rank eight and higher would even have clearance to look at it and we all know rank eight doesn’t exist anymore because of me. Two: Hongjoong was ten years old when he left Agony so the most recent picture Agony has is ten years old now so no one is going to recognize him, and third, and most important in my opinion: Agony thinks Hongjoong died along with his parents all those years ago so his file isn’t even in the same system as everyone else’s,” Ghost explained, divulging much more information than Mingi had been expecting. He’d never been so forthcoming before; perhaps he was beginning to trust them all more. Mingi doubted that just as fast as the thought had appeared in his head. At least he was offering helpful information now instead of just pouting in the corner. Even if the information wasn’t exactly relevant to the task at hand, it was still useful information.

“How do you know all that?” Hongjoong asked, sounding a little awestruck. If Mingi had to guess, he’d say Hongjoong, himself, hadn’t even known this information about himself with regards to Agony. Hongjoong still hadn’t shared much about his past with the rest of the team, but no one pushed for more information out of respect for what was clearly a sensitive topic. They all trusted Hongjoong with their lives and if he didn’t want to discuss his past, they would all patiently wait until he was ready to share. It had taken each of them a good deal of time to share with the team why they decided to join in the first place. San and Jongho still hadn’t fully divulged their reasons to everyone on the team besides to Hongjoong in their initial entrance interview. When it all boiled down to it, they were a team and no matter their reasons, they all wanted the same thing.

“I told you before, I’m a very thorough person,” Ghost said but gave no other indication that he was going to elaborate any further. Figures. He knew he had their full attention now, and he was going to hold his information over their heads.

“Alright, but I still think you should avoid higher-ranking officials just in case. And as a rule of thumb, I just think it’s better to interact with the rest of the Park family as little as possible,” Yunho said, bringing them back on topic and shifting the focus away from Ghost once more. If he was going to behave in such a strange way, they didn’t need his help right now, anyway.

“Right, you’re right,” Hongjoong agreed. He brought his thumbnail to his mouth, chewing on it for a minute silently before snapping out of whatever nervous train of thought he had gone down. “What next, then?”

“After blending in for a while, you’ll have to wait for an opportunity to slip away. If you can’t manage to, making up an excuse like needing to use the bathroom could work, too,” Mingi added.

“Then, you’ll have to find where exactly in the manor their server terminals are kept so that you can download the spyware Yeosang developed onto them,” Yunho continued.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know where exactly in the house this is or how much security there will be so this part will be the hardest. You’ll have to find it without getting caught and without taking too long so to not raise suspicion,” Mingi said.

“Don’t suppose you have any useful information about that, do you?” Hongjoong asked, directing his question at Ghost.

“I don’t, unfortunately, they change around where the servers are hosted on the daily to avoid this exact event. Until the day arrives, there’s no way to know where it will be,” Ghost explained.

“But you’re sure they’ll be in the manor, right?” Yunho asked. Their plan depended on this bit of information, after all.

“The Governor is a very paranoid man, he keeps everything important as close to himself as possible. I am one-hundred percent certain the terminals will be somewhere in that house or else the world is ending,” Ghost assured.

“Alright, then I guess our plan is a go,” Hongjoong decided. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly checking the time. “Perfect timing, too, because I’ve gotta get going before I’m late.”

“Where are you going?” Mingi asked out of curiosity. Hongjoong usually never had plans outside of ATEEZ so this was a bit out of the norm.

“Seonghwa is taking me shopping for a suit because I don’t have one.” He looked genuinely excited as he explained what he was going to be doing, such a stark contrast to the anxiety that was plain as day on his face. Mingi was suddenly reminded of how happy he had looked on his second official date with Seonghwa, too. His happiness was infectious. He could feel the mood lightening just a bit along with him.

“Aww, how cute,” Ghost cooed mockingly, his jealousy clear as day.

“You guys should get some rest,” Hongjoong said, pointedly ignoring Ghost’s comment. That was probably for the best. The guy was just trying to get a rise out of him, as was his life’s mission it seemed.

“Will do, Captain,” Mingi agreed.

Hongjoong smiled at the two of them before leaving the room with a skip in his step, taking the happy vibes with him as he went. With him gone, the reality of the situation began to sink in once more. Everything around him felt so bittersweet. Mingi was not looking forward to the moment where ATEEZ had to confront Seonghwa as the enemy he actually was.

“This isn’t going to end well for him, is it?” Yunho asked, clearly seeing the same problems Mingi was.

“No… it really isn’t.”

~Hongjoong~

Hongjoong fidgeted nervously in his seat, playing with the end of his very expensive tie. He hadn’t thought this through very well. He’d been elated that Seonghwa asked him to be his date to this gala event. For one, it was the main reason he was tasked to “seduce” Park Seonghwa in the first place, but it was also because he really liked spending time with him, perhaps more than he logically should. Going shopping for the suit Hongjoong wore now yesterday had been fun. Seonghwa had paid for the whole ensemble despite the very large price tag and all of Hongjoong’s constant complaints. He had been in awe of his appearance, never before having seen the power of clothes so prominently before. For one, the suit had three pieces to it. Hongjoong had no idea that a tuxedo could also include a vest and wasn’t just a jacket and some matching pants. He’d stood for an hour, having a tailor fix the black blazer to his exact measurements on the spot. When everything had been marked properly on the suit for his size, the suit was fed through some sort of machine that Hongjoong couldn’t even fathom how it worked but when it came out the other side, he had a perfectly outfitted suit. How crazy! The process alone cost a significant amount of money and that’s not to even mention the hassle that picking out a tie was. The price tag on even that small garment had been through the roof; Hongjoong had almost fainted just looking at it.

Then, after that whole ordeal where Hongjoong nearly had a panic attack looking at the final price of his three-piece, tailored suit, they’d gone to dinner. Hongjoong had to corner the waitress to get the receipt before Seonghwa could pay for that too, catching her just as she had been printing their bill to pay for it before Seonghwa even knew. After that, Hongjoong had invited Seonghwa back to his apartment where they’d partaken in more… intimate relations before Seonghwa left him for the night.

It had been a fantastic night, but none of that prepared Hongjoong for the nervousness he felt now. He’d never been someone’s date to a high-end party… he’d never even _been_ to a high-end party before. How was he supposed to act? What was he supposed to do? He knew that his main priority wasn’t to figure out how to enjoy the party, but Yunho and Mingi had suggested he blend in for a bit before finding the right moment to sneak away. But in order to blend in, he needed to stop feeling so nervous. It was just Seonghwa, the same awkward dork that had practically screamed at him during his initial confession. He could do this, no problem.

Seonghwa had picked him up earlier in the night since the mansion was a bit too far of a walk from Hongjoong’s apartment in the rain. He’d shown up in his expensive red and black sports car, looking every bit like the millionaire’s son that he was in his own tailored suit. Hongjoong was left speechless for a moment when he first opened the door to the exquisite sight that was his boyfriend. The term handsome wasn’t even strong enough, Hongjoong felt. He had suddenly wished he’d put more effort into his own appearance. He’d brushed his hair for the occasion at least instead of just stuffing it into a hat like he normally did. He’d thought that that would be enough but seeing Seonghwa now… he wondered if they had a little more time so that he could at least try to get on the same level as his date. Seonghwa had even bought him flowers for the occasion. A dozen, deep red roses, cut perfectly and absolutely gorgeous. When asked what the occasion even was, he’d only shrugged and said that he had felt like spoiling his “amazing boyfriend”. As cheesy as it was, how was Hongjoong supposed to not fall even harder for the man when he said and did things like that?

They drove to the party together after Hongjoong had found a spot for his flowers and Seonghwa had assured him multiple times that he looked fantastic and didn’t need to change a thing. And then, that’s where Hongjoong found himself now, sitting in the front seat of Seonghwa’s car, a giant ball of nerves that was only growing by the second.

A knock on the glass window next to him snapped him out of his downward spiral of thoughts. He jumped a little, looking around frantically for the source of the noise before he found Seonghwa standing outside. He heard muffled laughter as he opened the car door for him. He hadn’t even realized the car had stopped… He really needed to get out his head and just focus on the next step.

“Are you okay?” He asked, teasing tone clear in his voice as he offered a hand to help him out of the car.

“You scared me,” Hongjoong admitted, taking the hand and pulling himself out of the car with Seonghwa’s help.

“You didn’t get out of the car when we stopped,” he began to explain. “What’s on your mind to have you so distracted?”

Seonghwa didn’t let go of his hand once he was up and out of the car. Instead, he grabbed his other hand as well and pulled him closer.

“It’s nothing,” Hongjoong lied. He didn’t want Seonghwa to think he didn’t want to be here. And he definitely didn’t want Seonghwa to suggest they skip the party entirely on account of his nerves. He would get through this one way or another.

“You can tell me anything, you know,” Seonghwa said, mimicking Hongjoong’s words from the other day.

“I guess I'm just a little nervous,” Hongjoong admitted. “I’ve never been to something like this…”

“You’re perfect,” Seonghwa started. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. We don’t have to talk to anyone if you want. I’ll be by your side the entire time.”

Hongjoong nodded in understanding; though that was only just the tip of the iceberg when it came to why he was nervous, he couldn’t exactly say all the reasons he was nervous to Seonghwa, who, he had to remind himself, was still his enemy.

“How will your family react to you bringing me as your plus one?”

Seonghwa gave a short laugh before leaning down close.

“Honestly, I really, _really_ , don’t care what they think,” he said. “It’s just a party, we only have to stay long enough for people to remember seeing me there and then we can leave and do whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?”

“Within reason, of course,” he laughed. “Feel better?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Good.” He leaned down the rest of the way, kissing him gently. Hongjoong melted into his arms as always. Oh, this was really not good. He never should’ve allowed himself to get so close to him. “Let’s head inside, then.”

Seonghwa pulled away from him, still holding his one hand as he began to lead him up the pathway to the large, official-looking house. The manor tonight was illuminated with dozens of tasteful highlights, making the already expensive exterior look even more elegant. There was a line of scattered party guests also making their way into the house, each one just as expensive and affluent-looking as the next.

“I feel a little underdressed,” Hongjoong whispered as they joined the queue. Seonghwa snorted as he continued: “Especially next to you.”

“Not this again. You look amazing, darling,” he immediately retorted, not skipping a beat. “You’ll outshine everyone in there, I guarantee it.”

“You’re being awfully sweet tonight,” Hongjoong giggled.

“I’m just… I’m really happy you agreed to go out with me. Not just tonight but in the first place altogether. I’ve never… I’ve never gone out with anyone before because of my ties to… well, you know.”

“I’ve never gone out with anyone, either,” Hongjoong admitted. It was also due to similar reasons, but he couldn’t exactly tell Seonghwa that. “But I really like being with you.”

“That makes me… really happy,” Seonghwa said quietly.

They walked into the manor hand in hand and Hongjoong was stunned into silence for the second time that night. The interior was even grander than the outside. People actually lived here? This is the place Seonghwa called home? The foyer was large and lit with golden light from a crystal chandelier hanging high above. The floor was a light-colored hardwood, shined to the point where Hongjoong could almost make out his entire reflection in them. There were deep purple rugs scattered decoratively around the floor and many end tables with fancy knickknacks and vases placed purposefully on them. Many party guests mingled in the foyer, holding flutes of bubbly champagne and chatting lively. Seonghwa led him inside a little further and away from the door before they were suddenly stopped.

“Seonghwa! Finally decided to make an appearance, I see,” a new and eerily familiar voice brought Hongjoong back into the moment. He knew that voice. He’d heard it give numerous political speeches off the TV, heard it mocking them from across a crowded intersection with a gun to a child’s head. And sure enough, his suspicions were confirmed when Hongjoong caught sight of none other than the Governor himself making his way over to the pair of them. The exact person Yunho had explicitly suggested he avoid at all costs.

“Father,” Seonghwa greeted curtly. By the uncomfortable expression that took over his features, Hongjoong gathered that he, too, had been hoping to avoid him.

“And who is this?” The Governor asked, pointedly looking at their clasped hands as he asked the question. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of becoming acquainted yet.”

“This is Hongjoong,” Seonghwa spoke up so that Hongjoong didn’t have to. “My date for tonight and… my boyfriend.”

So he just went for it, didn’t even ease the man into it. Hongjoong looked between Seonghwa and the Governor, waiting for any sort of reaction from either of them. He felt so lost in the middle of this entire, silent conflict. He couldn’t tell what either of them were thinking. A few painful seconds ticked by. No one said anything, a tense silence filling the void. Then, as if nothing had even happened at all, the man broke into a large smile and laughed jovially. Hongjoong hated to think what twisted thoughts had gone through the man’s mind during those tense seconds.

“That’s wonderful! Maybe you’ll stop moping around so much now that you finally snagged yourself a date.”

Seonghwa opened his mouth to retort that comment when a fourth person joined their conversation.

“What’s this I hear? Our little Hwa has a boyfriend?” A man a little shorter than Seonghwa but taller than Hongjoong still, slung an arm around Seonghwa’s neck, playfully roughing him up a bit. He was the spitting image of the Governor, only years younger. He had to be the older brother, Hongjoong deduced, the Governor’s only biological son. It was almost a little unnerving how similar he and his father looked, from their straight black hair to their rounded body type. From the rumors surrounding the man, however, he was even more of a psychopath than his father. Wonderful. Now Hongjoong had run into the other person Yunho had warned against. Well, this plan was going great… He hoped this wasn’t foreshadowing of what was to come later in the night as well.

Seonghwa pushed his elder brother off him with a look of disgust on his face. He righted his clothes once the elder moved to stand next to his father instead.

“Hyung, this is Hongjoong,” Seonghwa introduced again. The man looked him up and down in a way that made Hongjoong feel totally uncomfortable.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Hongjoong,” he said, stepping forward and reaching out as if he were going to touch him. “I hope we can get better _acquainted_ at some point tonight.”

Before the man’s hand could make any sort of contact, however, Seonghwa was stepping between the two of them. He brushed away his had before standing firm with an unreadable expression on his face. His brother looked shocked for a moment before a cocky smirk took over his expression.

“No need to get so jealous, I’m just being a friendly host. You might wanna be more careful, Soengie, wouldn’t want to disrespect your elders again, would you?”

Hongjoong didn’t like the sound of that threat, especially after everything Wooyoung had told him about what Seonghwa could’ve potentially gone through. But Seonghwa was undeterred. He stood strong between the two of them. Suddenly, Hongjoong was reminded of last week when another strong and unflinching man had stood in front of him to protect him from danger.

“Hongjoong and I are going to go dance,” Seonghwa announced after a beat of tension-filled silence. He reached behind himself, grabbing Hongjoong’s hand once more before adding: “Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, hyung, father. If you’ll excuse us.”

“Yes of course,” the Governor agreed immediately, an amused smirk on his face as well. “Please, enjoy the party.”

Seonghwa wasted no time once he had permission to leave. He bolted from the area, pulling Hongjoong along with him. Only when the blond determined that they were far enough away from the rest of his family, did he slow down, coming to a halt at the complete other side of the foyer and sighing deeply.

“I’m really sorry about them,” Seonghwa began, sounding both frustrated and embarrassed at the same time. “Neither of them know any boundaries.”

“It’s okay,” Hongjoong lied. He really, _really_ , did not like that interaction at all. But it had been rather touching to see how quick Seonghwa was to jump to his defense without even a moment of hesitation. Even if Hongjoong didn’t know what exactly it was Seonghwa had been defending him from. “All families are a little strange to outsiders.”

“I guess you have a point,” Seonghwa said with aa bitter chuckle. “I don’t really like considering those two my family, though.”

Hongjoong was taken aback for a second by what Seonghwa had just openly admitted to him. If that was truly the case, why hadn’t Seonghwa defected when Wooyoung had begged him to? If not with his own family or Agony, where, then, did Seonghwa’s true allegiances lie?

“Sorry, that was a little heavy,” Seonghwa admitted while Hongjoong’s thoughts were thrown into chaos. “We’re supposed to be having fun.”

“I believe you said we were going to go dance,” Hongjoong agreed, helping to change the subject. He really wanted to put the fact that he and Seonghwa were on opposite sides of this war as far out of his mind as possible for the moment. At least then he could continue pretending that everything was going to be fine between them when everything was said and done.

“Do you want to? I was just trying to find an excuse to escape but if you want to, we can,” Seonghwa rambled on and Hongjoong laughed. He found it absolutely perplexing how the man could go from deadly serious to an awkward mess in the span of only a few minutes.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Hongjoong nodded. This time he took the initiative. He stepped close to Seonghwa once more. He looped his arm around Seonghwa’s and looked up at him with what he was a bright smile to convey that he was still happy to be here despite what had just happened. Seonghwa’s face immediately turned bright red upon making eye contact and he quickly looked away once more. How cute.

“Alright,” Seonghwa mumbled his agreement. His face still heated as he began to lead Hongjoong down a series of hallways along a marked path for guests to follow to the ballroom. They passed many closed doors that led to room after room Hongjoong was unsure of. Then, they came up to their destination.

The ballroom was just as grand as the rest of the house, decorated lavishly for the event. Most of the guests it seemed congregated here. The front half of the room was full of circular tables for guests to sit and eat at. Against the wall next to the door was a long table full of silver platters of food, most of which Hongjoong had never seen the likes of before. The back half of the room, and where Seonghwa was leading them now, was completely empty save for the left corner where a large string orchestra played pleasant music to dance to.

The two of them found a lesser populated spot on the dance floor, near the wall where there would be fewer prying eyes. Then, Seonghwa pulled him close, placing his hands gently on his waist. Hongjoong completed the position, wrapping his arms loosely around his neck in turn. They swayed to the music for a while, neither of them feeling the need to break the pleasant silence that had settled between them. Hongjoong both loved and hated how well the two of them complimented each other, hated that eventually one of them would betray the other but loved the way it felt to be completed by another person. There really was no denying it at this point. Hongjoong was hopelessly in love with the enemy. He’d known for a while now that this was true, but he didn’t want to admit it to himself because of the heartbreak it would surely cause down the road.

Hongjoong changed his train of thought quickly; he didn’t want to make himself sad. Seonghwa would probably pick up on that mood shift immediately. He focused instead on the interaction he had just had with the Governor and his eldest son. From everything Hongjoong could gather from that short interaction, Seonghwa was a stark opposite from everything they were. Even in his appearance and demeanor, it was hard to believe they all lived under the same roof and called themselves a family. Hongjoong especially hated how casually and friendly the Governor had interacted with them. How could a man who had hit his son hard enough to leave visible bruising on his face and forced him to endure days of torture as punishment for something out his of control then act as if they were a loving and playful family? It was absolutely disgusting. Hongjoong couldn’t wait to put that piece of filth where it belonged.

And then there was Seonghwa’s older brother… Hongjoong absolutely _did not_ like the vibes he gave off. The way he had looked at him; Hongjoong bit back an uncomfortable shiver up his spine just thinking about it. And the veiled threat he had given Seonghwa… Hongjoong really did not like these family dynamics. If this was how they acted in public, he hated to even think about how they acted behind closed doors…

“What are you thinking about?” Seonghwa asked quietly. Hongjoong refocused his attention on the man in front of him. “If it’s about my family, I’m really sorry—”

“No, No,” Hongjoong cut him off. “Well, it _was_ about your family but not in the way you’re probably thinking.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… was it them… you know, the reason you had that black eye last week?”

Seonghwa sighed, looking a little reluctant to continue.

“I think you already know the answer to that,” Seonghwa mumbled

“I wish things could be different,” Hongjoong continued, being as vague as he could to avoid giving himself away.

“Why’s that?”

“Because I really like you, silly,” Hongjoong giggled. Seonghwa blushed again, but the small smile beginning to take over his once serious expression made Hongjoong continue on: “And I just want the best for you. Seeing you that way last week… I was so worried.”

“I’m going to be fine,” Seonghwa assured. “I promise you.”

“I sure hope so,” Hongjoong agreed; he laid his head against Seonghwa’s chest as they swayed to the music. Seonghwa held him tighter, resting his own head against Hongjoong’s. “Because I will kill you if you die on me.”

“I don’t think it’ll be that serious,” he laughed.

“Even so.”

“You’re cute,” he teased, kissing his head. They settled into a comfortable silence once more. This time, however, Hongjoong was much more willing to just enjoy the moment, to focus solely on the warm, sturdy body pressed against his. He wished things could be different. He wished this whole relationship hadn’t been built on a lie, that eventually he’d have to betray the man he had come to care very deeply about, hated that the moment would be coming any minute.

And come that moment did. A small child, a girl no older than twelve if Hongjoong had to guess, had pulled at Seonghwa’s jacket as they continued to dance off in their own little world. She begged Seonghwa to dance with her, just for one song.

“My dad’s too busy talking “important stuff” and he said that maybe you would dance with me,” she pleaded.

“One dance isn’t going to kill you,” Hongjoong teased. “Gotta treat a lady right.”

The little girl smiled brightly at that.

“What are you going to do?” Seonghwa asked him.

“I’ll go find something to drink, I think,” Hongjoong brushed off. There were enough people here, he was sure Seonghwa wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on him the entire time he was gone.

“Alright,” Seonghwa agreed. He pressed a quick kiss to Hongjoong’s lips in goodbye before he turned back to his new dance partner. “Okay, my lady, shall we?”

The little girl giggled, nodding enthusiastically as she took Seonghwa’s outstretched hand. She immediately stepped up onto Seonghwa’s toes where she promptly stayed with no sign of having any intention of moving. Seonghwa gave him a look of distress upon realizing this was how the dance was going to go but Hongjoong only laughed. Seonghwa rolled his eyes but turned a friendly smile back to the little girl. She looked so happy to have someone to dance with. Seonghwa really was just too perfect; how could Hongjoong not fall head over heels?

He couldn’t linger for long, he reminded himself. He wasn’t sure if he’d get another chance like this later in the night. It was now or never, he decided. The quicker he got this over with the quicker he could get back to pretending he and Seonghwa weren’t enemies.

He slipped through the crowd, heading first in the general direction of the refreshments table. He figured he should keep up the ploy until he was sure there was no way Seonghwa could still have an eye on him.

Once he was confident there were enough people between him and his date, he broke off from the path he’d been on. He headed straight towards the door he had entered through, making sure to walk confidently and with purpose, like he knew exactly where he was going. He needed to act as inconspicuous as possible, seeing as he was surrounded by potential enemies on all sides.

When he got into the hallway, he waited for the best opportunity and then slipped deeper into the house away from the festivities. And now the hard part began. This house was absolutely huge… how the hell was he going to find the exact spot where the access terminal to the servers was kept? Maybe he could find some info on potential locations. The Governor had to have a home office somewhere, right?

He started opening doors once he was the only one in this part of the house. The first couple of rooms were not what he was looking for. A couple sitting rooms, tons of empty closets, and there was a library behind one of them but no study or office. He kept pushing forward, looking in every room and behind every door he passed. He finally found it at the end of a long hallway. The door was already open so Hongjoong just slipped right in. He didn’t turn the lights on, not wanting to draw attention to the room in case anyone happened by. Then, he immediately went to the desk, beginning to shuffle through all the papers for literally anything he could find to help him. He had to be quick. He had no idea how long he’d been gone for by this point or if Seonghwa was still dancing with that little girl, and if he wasn’t still dancing, how long would he wait before going in search of him? He didn’t think he had that much longer regardless; he needed to find something and fast.

He quickly scavenged through every drawer of the desk but found absolutely nothing useful, just boring business documents. He checked the bookshelf behind the desk, feeling his way along but nothing stood out there either. Moving on to the filing cabinet next, he found the drawers to be locked but that didn’t surprise him. It took him thirty seconds flat to pick the lock after he’d fished the lockpick out of his pocket. It was almost comically easy. Once inside, he carded through folder after folder, looking at each tab as quickly as he could. Nothing looked useful, just more business documents and governmental campaign papers. Everything in here was entirely too by the book what someone would expect the Governor’s home office to look like and contain if they didn’t know of his Agony backgrounds. Where was the real information stored? There had to be something somewhere. Hongjoong wasn’t going to give up. They only had one shot at this. Seonghwa certainly wasn’t going to let him out of his sight again after he’d wandered off this time. He had to find something, anything useful.

He moved on to the second drawer in the filing cabinet, going through the papers and perfectly organized folders as quickly as he could. Papers, documents, letters, names—

“You’re not going to find what you’re looking for in here.”

Hongjoong nearly jumped three feet in the air, slamming the drawer he’d been looking through shut and whipping around all in one flailing movement. A figure stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. His features were shrouded in shadow due to the light from the hallway and the darkness from the office, but Hongjoong would recognize him anywhere.

He didn’t know what to say. What _could_ he say in this scenario? He wasn’t good enough at it to lie his way out of this situation.

“You don’t have to bother lying to me,” Seonghwa continued before Hongjoong could think of anything to say in defense of himself. His voice was even, not at all angry but a little sad, like he had already resigned to the fact that Hongjoong had been using him this entire time. Hongjoong hated the thought. “I’ve known for a while who you really are.”

Hongjoong stayed quiet; staring at his feet in shame, unsure of what if anything at all to say. Seonghwa sighed loudly; Hongjoong felt like crying. Getting caught by Seonghwa himself wasn’t a part of the plan. They hadn’t accounted for this…

“Come on then, I’ll show you where they are.”

Hongjoong’s head snapped up at Seonghwa’s words. The man was staring back at him, face void of any discernible emotions. Wooyoung had described Seonghwa’s ability to mask his emotions but he never thought he’d be on the receiving end of such a mask. He’d been so open before… Hongjoong really hated this, hated that they’d probably never go back to the way they were before. He knew this would happen, of course, he did. He just thought he had more time to prepare himself for the inevitable.

And now… Was Seonghwa even offering to help him, too?

“What?”

“You need to get at Agony’s servers, don’t you?” Seonghwa asked. Hongjoong nodded slowly. “I’ll show you where they are. Save us both some time and effort.”

Seonghwa didn’t wait for confirmation, he instead turned sharply on his heels and began walking away down the hallway. Hongjoong followed after him quickly.

They were silent the entire walk, both of them saying nothing as Seonghwa led them where Hongjoong needed to go. Even if he wanted to fill the tense silence, Hongjoong had no idea what he would even say. So many thoughts spiraled through his brain. There was so much he wanted Seonghwa to know but he had no idea where to start or even how to begin saying them. He didn’t want things to end here. He knew Seonghwa didn’t either. Seonghwa had time and time again shown that his allegiances were not wholly tied to Agony; there had to be a way to convince him to sever them entirely.

Seonghwa stopped outside a door Hongjoong had overlooked on his initial journey. Behind the wooden door earlier, he’d found nothing but an empty closet and When Seonghwa opened the door now he saw the same sight as before. He looked at the man in, rather justified, confusion. He only gestured for Hongjoong to step into the small alcove. Skeptically, Hongjoong did as was silently suggested, stepping as far in as he could to make room for Seonghwa, who followed after him without a word and closed the door behind them. Shrouded in darkness and pressed close together, Hongjoong was rather reasonably confused. Thankfully, Seonghwa didn’t linger long; he knelt down to the ground, beginning to feel around the back wall. Hongjoong followed suit, kneeling to the ground and watching as Seonghwa pulled a panel of drywall away from the rest of its surroundings. Behind it, Hongjoong was amazed to see a series of neon blue lights and what he could only assume was an access terminal behind the wall. He never would’ve found this without help. He didn’t think anyone would ever think to look here.

“Do you have a flash drive or something?” Seonghwa asked.

“Oh,” Hongjoong snapped into action, patting down his pockets for the small device Yeosang had given him. “Here.”

Seonghwa took the USB he held out for him, plugging it into the computers so the virus could download. When it was done, he unplugged it again and handed it back to him. He carefully placed the wall back in place, leaving the two of them once more in darkness. Neither of them moved from where they were. What were they supposed to do now? He needed to let Seonghwa know what he was thinking. No matter what the repercussions were at this point, he had to let it all out.

“Seonghwa I—” Hongjoong started but was quickly cut off.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said. “You don’t need to make me feel better.”

“No, but I need—”

“Please, it’d just be easier if you left without saying anything now that you got what you needed.”

“Seonghwa, please just let me—”

“I knew from the beginning that it was too good to be true,” Seonghwa continued speaking, ignoring everything Hongjoong was trying to say: “I just wanted to keep pretending for as long as possible and you were such a good actor—”

Hongjoong snapped. He grabbed either side of Seonghwa’s face, forcing the man to look at him. It was dark but with how close Hongjoong moved in, he could see his shocked expression staring back at him.

“For the love of God, Seonghwa, will you stop moping in self-deprecation for one second and listen to what I’m trying to say to you!?” He shouted, stopping the man in his tracks. “I know what you’re thinking and what you’ve probably convinced yourself must be true, but I want you to know, that yes, this entire relationship started because ATEEZ needed to get into this house, but everything I’ve said, everything I’ve done, has been true.”

“I know,” Seonghwa whispered, sounding wholly broken as if all his earlier attempts to give Hongjoong a way out had been his way of hiding his actual heartbreak. Knowing that Hongjoong’s feelings were true and not at all fake made the inevitable betrayal that much harder to face. He could hear the tears Seonghwa was holding back in his voice despite how hard he tried to cover it up. He pulled the man close, latching on to him as Seonghwa did the same. “I just wanted to keep pretending, just for a little longer.”

“If you’ve known who I was from the beginning, why did you even agree in the first place?” Hongjoong asked.

“I just… liked you so much. Your friends kept telling me that you’d been ‘pining after me for so long’ to make it seem more believable but in actuality, it was _me_ who had been pining for so long. Even knowing who you are, I absolutely admire your strength and determination to do what’s right. You started an organization from nothing, one that’s literally giving Agony a run for their money even though there’s only seven of you. You left Agony and survived, raised yourself back up despite everything they did to try and tear you down. Everything that I couldn’t do…”

“Seonghwa…”

So he really knew who Hongjoong was, all the way down to his early childhood confrontations with Agony. Were his beginnings this well known to everyone? Ghost had known of them as well.

“I haven’t faked anything,” Hongjoong said again. He needed to make sure Seonghwa knew everything. “You have no idea how much it hurt to leave that ballroom. You’re so sweet, so thoughtful and caring. You don’t belong here, Seonghwa. You can leave. I have no doubt that you’re strong enough.”

“Hongjoong, I’m a murderer. You’ve seen my wrist; you’ve seen all the tallies.”

“You can make it right,” Hongjoong answered. “Just leave with me. I won’t let anyone touch you. ATEEZ will protect you.”

“I can’t,” Seonghwa sniffled. “Not yet. There are still things I need to do.”

“Then I’m staying, too,” he decided finitely.

“What? You can’t stay here. It’s too dang—”

“I didn’t mean literally, you dork,” Hongjoong scoffed. “I’ll stay by your side till you’re ready. I’m not leaving you. Not after everything you’ve done for us. Fuck, Seonghwa, you endured torture willingly for Wooyoung. We owe you so much.”

“You… don’t want to break up?”

“You’re stuck with me now,” he affirmed. “Until we are no longer on opposite sides and then some.”

“I love you,” Seonghwa let out with a breath, surging forward once more and kissing Hongjoong deeply and passionately. They were in an awkward position still kneeling on the ground of a small closet but Hongjoong couldn’t care less. Getting confessed to in a tiny closet on the floor, as ridiculous as it sounded, really wasn’t anything unexpected from the ever-unpredictable Park Seonghwa. When they pulled away, Hongjoong was thrumming with heat.

“I love you, too,” Hongjoong agreed. Even if their relationship had only been official for a few days short of a month, Hongjoong didn’t know what else to call these feelings. The smile he received at his words was enough to put his mind at ease. “Can we… go somewhere other than this closet, though?”

Seonghwa giggled.

“Did you have anywhere in mind?” He asked sarcastically but stood up regardless.

“Somewhere we can be alone,” Hongjoong started. “I think you promised we could do whatever I wanted within reason after you made an appearance.”

“I did,” he agreed. “But then Cinderella ran away from the ball.”

“Well, I have no reason to run away now.”

Seonghwa laughed again; Hongjoong’s heart soared. Seeing him smile at him like he normally did—even if it was a little dark—was infinitely better than the cold mask he’d gotten before.

“Come on then, Princess,” he teased, holding a hand out to help Hongjoong up. “Let’s get out of here before someone comes to check on the terminal.”

Hongjoong took Seonghwa’s hand, pulling himself up into a standing position. Seonghwa kissed his nose gently before moving to the door, his hand slipping down Hongjoong’s arm to lace their fingers together. He opened the door only a crack at first, looking both left and right to make sure they were alone. Once he was sure, they both quickly exited the closet before Seonghwa then led them even further away from the party. Hongjoong followed willingly. He had no idea where Seonghwa was leading them, but he happily followed along. Words could not describe how happy he was by this outcome. It was almost too good to be true, but he wasn’t going to give up on Seonghwa. Not for as long as there was even a sliver of hope that he could save Seonghwa from this living hell.

They came upon a back staircase and Seonghwa led them straight up two flights before going down one final hallway and coming up to a singular wooden door. He opened it to reveal a modern bedroom only a little larger than Hongjoong’s apartment. It was void of all personality save for a framed photograph of a young smiling boy with an equally happy woman on the desk across from the bed. Everything else looked like a stage furniture display rather than an actual lived-in bedroom. It was so clean and properly put together, practically the complete opposite of Hongjoong’s own living space.

“I don’t actually spend a lot of time here,” Seonghwa admitted, reading the question off Hongjoong’s face before he could even ask it.

“Yeah I know,” Hongjoong teased, walking further into the room and taking a look around. “Because you spend so much time at my place.”

“I like your home,” Seonghwa said, closing the door behind him. “It’s small and homey. Not big and empty like this place.”

“I always thought you’d have a huge room, seeing as how big this house is.”

“My father deemed it unnecessary to give me a real bedroom since I wasn’t a full member of the family,” he said, sounding as if he were quoting someone instead of using his own words. “If it were up to me, I probably wouldn’t have even had a bedroom at all. My mother demanded it, though and repurposed this room into something livable.”

“Is that her?” Hongjoong asked as he sat on the edge of Seonghwa’s bed, pointing to the picture frame on the desk. Seonghwa smiled sadly.

“Yeah, I never knew my real mother, so she was as close as I ever got to the real thing. She kept me away from the family business for as long as she could. I think she knew, even when we were really young that her actual son was far too gone to ever get back, so she overcompensated with me.”

“What happened?”

The Governor’s wife was a lesser talked about subject within the city. She was there one day and the next… it was like she never existed at all. No one ever said anything about it for fear of the same thing happening to them.

Seonghwa was quiet for a moment, a pained expression on his face. Hongjoong regretted asking the question at all.

“You don’t have to—”

“He killed her…” Seonghwa said before Hongjoong could even finish. “He killed her after I failed one of his tests, saying she had made me weak, a failure of a son. He was going to kill me, but she begged to take my place.”

Hongjoong immediately stood back up from where he had been sitting, crossing the room quickly and embracing Seonghwa tightly once more. He had always known that Seonghwa had to have had a fucked-up childhood but that had done nothing to prepare him for actually hearing about it.

“She did a phenomenal job,” Hongjoong assured. “She’d be proud of the way you’ve turned out despite everything around you.”

“I wish that were true,” Seonghwa whispered. “I’ve done a lot of bad things.”

“So have I,” Hongjoong said without missing a beat. Before he became Pirate King, he’d done things he wasn’t proud of to survive. Hell, all of ATEEZ had. San had been a prostitute, Yeosang had hacked everyone and everything for data and resources, Mingi was part of a street gang collecting debts, Yunho a pickpocket who didn’t discriminate on his targets. “So has everyone else. You do what you have to do to survive until you can find another way.”

“Even if its murder?”

Hongjoong pulled away from Seonghwa a bit instead of answering right away. He unbuttoned the man’s jacket, pushing it off his shoulders gently. He grabbed his arm, rolling up his perfectly pressed white sleeves to reveal the black ink that marred his tan flesh. Slowly with as much love and care as he could pour into his actions, he kissed the ink-covered skin. Starting at his wrist over the bold numbers 902, he dragged his lips purposefully all the way down to his forearm where the tally marks ended.

“How many?”

“Two-hundred-thirty-seven,” he answered barely above a whisper. “When Ghost appeared using the Agony fox mask as his signature, my father ordered the death of every rank eight agent in hopes of murdering Ghost as well. That was my first assignment as an official agent. Two-hundred-and-thirty-five people… took three years. I thought for sure that it would kill me.”

“What about the other two?”

“The first was for my mother. Even though I didn’t kill her with my own hand my father said she’d still be alive if I hadn’t failed so he figured having that as my first tally mark would be fitting. And the second was my initiation mission. It was some office worker… he didn’t have any family, no friends, no one to miss him after I killed him… Still haunts me to this day.”

Hongjoong let go of Seonghwa’s wrist, beginning to take off his own suit jacket now as well. He rolled up his shirt sleeve too, showing off his bare wrist.

“I’ve never shown anyone… No matter the temperature, I’ve always worn long sleeves.” The numbers 8236 glared back up at them in faded black ink. “The last person to be instated into rank eight at ten years old.”

“I guess I didn’t get them all,” Seonghwa laughed, fingertips lightly grazing Hongjoong’s wrist.

“You’re not a monster,” Hongjoong assured him. “You’re not like those two psychopaths you’re forced to call a family.”

“You really think so?”

“Seonghwa, if I thought you were a psychopath, I wouldn’t still be here.”

He smiled at him, sadness and shame slowly beginning to leave his features.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes, you do.”

Hongjoong stepped forward again, going up on his toes so he could kiss the man in front of him firmly, hoping to convey all of his feelings. Seonghwa immediately responded, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss that much further. He buried a large hand in the shaggy blond hair on the back of Hongjoong’s head as Hongjoong, in turn, clutched the front of his shirt tightly. They got lost in each other’s mouths, both entirely content to just stand there basking in each other’s presence as their lips slotted together over and over again.

Then, Seonghwa quite literally swept him off his feet, an arm sliding down under his knees and the other supporting his back, the entire time continuing to kiss him as best he could the whole way there. He carried him to the bed, toeing his shoes off along the way as Hongjoong did the same. Carefully, he laid him gently on top of the coverlet, following after him once he was out of his arms. He situated himself on top of Hongjoong, the smaller man spreading his legs to give him more room and to be as close as possible.

Hongjoong tangled his hands into soft blond locks, scratching and pulling as their kiss only continued to get deeper. Seonghwa pulled his dress shirt out of his pants before snaking his hands up Hongjoong’s bare chest. Gooseflesh overtook him as a shiver went up his spine in reaction to those large, warm hands running all over his flesh. When Seonghwa added his tongue into the mix, it was all over for Hongjoong. He moaned loudly, giving that deliciously talented tongue even more access to his mouth. He lasted only another few seconds before everything was beginning to be a little too much. He felt hot, every little movement of Seonghwa’s lips against his own set a wave of electricity through him. Turning his head and breaking the kiss off, Hongjoong panted heavily, trying to catch his breath and calm down a little bit. Seonghwa had no intention of letting him do so. He moved onto his neck instead, kissing and nipping frantically.

“Seonghwa,” Hongjoong whined when the man sucked what would end up being a dark bruise right on his pulse point. Seonghwa pulled away then, gently prodding Hongjoong to look up at him. The sight he saw only made the desire he was trying to get under control worse. His hair was a mess, his pupils blown wide, and his face flushed red as he too panted to catch his breath.

“Do you want to keep going?” He asked through a breathy whisper.

“Do you mean…? Like…?”

Seonghwa nodded, bringing a gentle hand up to cup his cheek lovingly.

“I’ve never been with anyone before.”

“Neither have I,” Seonghwa admitted. He smiled shyly down at him. “You’re the only person I’ve ever even kissed, too.”

Hongjoong wished he could say the same, but he pushed his bitter thoughts about Ghost out of his mind quickly.

“Okay,” Hongjoong agreed. “Yeah, okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

So Hongjoong gave himself fully to the enemy, but he knew it was only a matter of time before Hongjoong convinced him to join his side instead. He wasn’t giving up without a fight, not for as long as there was hope.

~Wooyoung~

“Feeling better, I see,” Seonghwa said, not even looking up from the multitude of textbooks scattered around him as he wrote neatly in a notebook. Wooyoung stood across from him at the table he sat at. He’d arrived before the people he was going to meet in the same outdoor cafeteria that the whole plan to seduce Seonghwa was devised, but he’d spotted Seonghwa sitting quietly by himself. Without a second of hesitation, Wooyoung had decided to go sit with him till San and Hongjoong got here and they could go get something to eat that wasn’t from a vending machine for once. He figured Seonghwa would appreciate some social interaction anyway.

“I guess you could say that,” Wooyoung agreed. His injuries from his time in Agony prison had been healing nicely in the week and a half since his escape. His bruises had faded to a dull green, any cuts and scrapes had healed over already, his arm was still in a sling while the fractured bones healed properly but at least his body no longer ached after every little movement. San had forced him to rest for the first week but he really had to go to school again. If his grades slipped, his parents would start paying a lot more attention to how he spent his free time and that would make his involvement with ATEEZ a lot more challenging. “I see you’ve picked up a few more bruises since we’ve last met, though.”

Seonghwa cleared his throat, pulling at the collar of his turtleneck to cover more of his neck. Wooyoung smirked; the damaged had already been done. He already saw the love bites, no use hiding them at this point, but he found his attempts cute nonetheless.

“I don’t really mind these bruises…” Seonghwa said quietly.

“Can’t blame you for that,” Wooyoung agreed.

Seonghwa clicked his pen closed after dotting one last period in his notes, setting it down and then finally turning his full attention towards Wooyoung. Wooyoung decided he looked… less tired, happier than the last time he’d seen him. Hongjoong had told him about how bad he had looked after presumably, his punishment had ended. Wooyoung was glad that nothing permanent had happened on account of him. He was also incredibly glad Hongjoong’s infiltration of the Governor’s manor had gone smoothly and he hadn’t gotten caught. He didn’t think he could stand to see Hongjoong moping around for however long it took him to get over that heartbreak. He also didn’t wish that pain on Seonghwa either. Especially after everything he had done for them.

“So did you need something?” Seonghwa asked. “You can sit if you want instead of just standing there. People will start to stare.”

Wooyoung snorted at that; Seonghwa cracked a small smile too. As if people weren’t already staring at Seonghwa anyway. He sat down across from him at the table anyway, deciding that San and Hongjoong would probably be able to find him here instead of their usual spot regardless. Seonghwa wasn’t exactly hard to spot with his bright blond hair and Wooyoung’s own lightly dyed grey stood out quite a bit as well.

“I wanted to thank you,” Wooyoung started. “I never got the chance before we left…”

“There’s no need to thank me,” Seonghwa said, waving a dismissive hand. “I only did what was right.”

“Yeah, and that saved my life so accept my thanks, jerk, and move on,” Wooyoung shot back with an eye-roll. Seonghwa laughed.

“You’re a lot less friendly out here,” he teased.

“I’m not your prisoner anymore,” Wooyoung said. “And you’re about to be outnumbered so you better get used to it.”

Catching sight of San entering the pavilion now too, he waved the man over, receiving an absolutely stunning smile in return for his efforts.

“Hey babe,” San greeted upon coming up to the table. He leaned down, pecking Wooyoung’s lips before taking the seat right next to him and scooting in closer on the bench. He gently laced their fingers together under the table. Wooyoung had discovered rather quickly that throughout his and San’s sexual relationship, San had really been holding himself back in terms of clinginess. Now that they were officially dating, he could practically never get the man off him. He loved it; though, he might not always show it very well. “You weren’t at our usual so I was a little lost there for a second.”

“I saw Seonghwa sitting over here all by himself and figured he could use some company,” Wooyoung explained simply. That had been his thought process after all. Thanking him for saving his life had really been an afterthought.

San blinked at him before looking over at Seonghwa as if he had just noticed that he was here too.

“Oh hello,” San said, smiling politely over at the man.

“Nice to see you again as well,” Seonghwa agreed. “I’m glad to see that you two worked everything out.”

“What are you…?” San began to ask.

“I may have told him about our originally faked relationship while he was interrogating me,” Wooyoung explained.

“Oh? Anything else you talked about that I should know?” San asked, smiling teasingly. Seonghwa spoke up before Wooyoung could this time.

“Only that he was hopelessly in love and was going to tell you so if he managed to escape.”

San immediately cooed over him, bumping their shoulders together playfully.

“Traitor,” Wooyoung mumbled.

“We were never on the same side, to begin with, remember?” Seonghwa continued with a smirk of his own.

“But in all seriousness,” San said, face going serious. “We really appreciate everything you did for us.”

“Don’t bother,” Seonghwa began. “Wooyoung already forced one show of gratitude down my throat, I don’t need another one.”

“Yikes, you’re really not good with compliments, are you?” San laughed; Wooyoung shook his head in agreement. “Mingi was right, you really are high-maintenance.”

“Excuse me?” Seonghwa asked, looking rather taken aback by San’s forwardness and rather rude tone.

“Excuse me?” Wooyoung mocked dramatically; San broke into a fit of giggles. Seonghwa looked absolutely perplexed by what was happening.

“You and Hongjoong really make a pair,” San continued. “Glad to see you two are hitting it off well.”

Wooyoung didn’t bother holding back loud laughter at that comment as Seonghwa flushed red. He shrunk further into his turtleneck, trying his absolute best to hide all the bruises that were no doubt left by Hongjoong.

“Why are you trying to hide?” Wooyoung pressed. “If you really didn’t want people to see that you and your boyfriend are getting it on, you could’ve tried harder.”

“I—I don’t—” Seonghwa sputtered, desperately trying to get something out to defend himself around his embarrassment.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” The last person they had been waiting for joined the conversation. Wooyoung quickly scanned Hongjoong’s apparel, noting the matching love bites on his neck as well. They were making this too easy. But Wooyoung had to watch his words now. As far as he knew. Seonghwa still thought Hongjoong was in no way involved with their conflict. They all would have to tread carefully.

Hongjoong sat next to Seonghwa, across from him and San, bumping shoulders with Seonghwa and giving him a bright smile. Seonghwa returned the smile bashfully.

“Thank God you’re here,” he started dramatically. “The two of them were ganging up on me.”

“Poor Seonghwa,” he cooed. “They do that all the time, though, the little gremlins.”

“Hey, we’re right here,” Wooyoung snapped.

“Tell us how you really feel, hyung,” San added with an eye-roll.

“Just ignore them, they’ll forget about it if you don’t give them attention,” Hongjoong finished. Wooyoung was about to retort with yet another sarcastic comment but Hongjoong continued before he could: “What are you guys doing over here with Seonghwa? Not that I’m complaining or anything.”

“I got here before you two, so I figured I’d get a feel for your new boyfriend,” Wooyoung explained.

“You make it sound so innocent when you say it like that,” Seonghwa mumbled.

“Well, I didn’t intend on coming over here and bullying you but you two make it so easy with how obvious you are.”

“And you and San aren’t, now that you’re official?” Hongjoong asked, coming to his boyfriend’s defense. He was really only digging their grave deeper, giving San and him the opportunity to slap back even harder.

“At least the two of us know how to hide hickeys,” San shot back in defense of Wooyoung. Both Hongjoong and Seonghwa shrunk in on themselves at that comment.

“All that money, you could afford a couple of scarves at least,” Wooyoung pressed on.

“I’m telling you, Woo, it must be something they’re into, letting anyone and everyone know that they’re having se—”

“Okay!” Hongjoong cut him off, perhaps a bit too loudly in his embarrassment. “I’m hungry, anyone else hungry? Why do we all find somewhere to eat?”

Both Wooyoung and San immediately stood up.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Wooyoung said.

“Yeah, I’ve been craving chicken ever since Yeosang wouldn’t let me have any of his earlier this morning,” San agreed.

“You two are monsters,” Hongjoong sighed, shaking his head. He stood up as well before pausing and looking down at Seonghwa. “Have you eaten yet today?”

Seonghwa shook his head no.

“But I wouldn’t want to impede on time with your friends.”

“You’re going to have to get used to us if you want to continue seeing Hongjoong,” Wooyoung interjected.

“You’re stuck with us now too,” San said.

“Come with us?” Hongjoong asked. “I promise they’re less annoying the longer you’re around them.”

Seonghwa laughed; Wooyoung rolled his eyes.

“I could go for some food,” he agreed, looking at Hongjoong with such a warm expression on his face Wooyoung was taken aback for a moment. What a stark difference to the lack of emotion Seonghwa had pretty much exclusively had around him before. That smile… It really did wonders for his features. Wooyoung wondered if Seonghwa knew that Hongjoong was on ATEEZ’s side if that would be enough to convince him to leave Agony for good. “As long as you promise not to corner the poor waitress again when I try to pay for your food.”

Before Hongjoong could get a word in, San saw yet another opportunity and ran with it.

“What’s that? Seonghwa’s buying lunch? I’m down, let’s go before I have to go back to class.”

San began walking away then, not even waiting to hear what the man’s response would be. Seonghwa only sighed, shaking his head as he too stood up from the table he’d been occupying.

“You don’t have to,” Hongjoong assured. “He’s just messing around again.”

“No that’s fine,” Seonghwa said, smiling down sweetly at Hongjoong once more. “I’ll treat my new friends this one time and they can pay me back some other time.”

Hongjoong looked skeptical, knowing all too well Wooyoung and San would do everything in their power to deny ever owing anyone money.

“Hey, you heard the man,” Wooyoung butted in. “Let’s go.”

“I just have to pack up my stuff,” Seonghwa agreed, already beginning to clean up the mess of assignments he had spread out all over the table.

While Hongjoong waited for Seonghwa to finish, helping the process along, Wooyoung ran ahead to catch up with San, stopping him from getting too far ahead of everyone else. The two of them waited patiently—well, as patiently as the two of them could anyway—for Seonghwa and Hongjoong to finish and then meet them at the exit of the pavilion. With the four of them ready, they left campus on foot. Seonghwa had offered to drive them all but the weather wasn’t completely dreary today so they decided walking would be fine; probably quicker too with the midday lunch rush in full swing.

They walked at a casual pace after deciding on a place they all agreed on; no one was in much of a hurry after all. Wooyoung still had two hours till his next lecture and despite the big fuss San had made earlier, he was done for the day. Wooyoung wasn’t entirely sure what Seonghwa and Hongjoong’s schedules were but he figured since they weren’t in any rush either that it wasn’t a big deal.

When they came up to the intersection of Central Avenue and First street, they were stopped by a red light before they could cross. The group fell into an uneasy silence remembering what had happened here two weeks ago to this day. Wooyoung kept quiet, hating the echoes of everyone’s distraught protests he could still practically here when he’d decided to hand himself over. San slowly laced his fingers with Wooyoung’s as they waited, probably remembering the same thing. Wooyoung squeezed his hand in return, assuring him silently that everything was okay.

But then, through the heavy silence, something caught Wooyoung’s attention. Being the largest, busiest, and most central intersection in the entire city, there were tons of large screens constantly playing advertisements and different news channels for hundreds of thousands of people to see every day. But all of a sudden, they all went blank. All of them. At the same time. Black screen.

Collectively, everyone in the intersection paused what they were doing, stopping and staring at the strange occurrence playing out around them. Wooyoung had never heard this place so quiet before, so still… it was wholly unnerving.

When every single screen around the intersection flashed to an error screen, the seven-colors occasionally giving way to static, Wooyoung realized what was happening. He checked his watch; one o’clock on the dot; they’d really timed this perfectly without even meaning to. He’d completely forgotten about their plan to broadcast their message to Agony today. They were definitely ready to hop back into the war now, especially after Hongjoong’s success on Saturday. As soon as Yeosang was able to decrypt the information on Agony’s servers, whatever that meant, they’d finally have the leg up they’d been searching for. They had every right to rub all their recent success in Agony’s face. They’d defended their hideout, turned five of their agents over to the police, broke Wooyoung out of a maximum-security Agony prison, and infiltrated the manor to gain access to their information. It was time to start making some heavier offensive plays. The team had thought Yeosang had outdone himself with the last broadcast on channel nine news, but he’d topped himself yet again. Hacking into the town square’s display system? Utter genius.

The error screen cut to black again, the sound of waves and seagulls filling the silence just like the last time. Wooyoung and San shared a knowing look, both excited to see what their amazing technician had come up with. Wooyoung chanced a glance at Seonghwa too, just to see his reaction to all this. He was unsurprised to see that guarded mask back on his face. Wooyoung rolled his eyes. Turning back to the large screen in front of him just as Yeosang’s modulated voice began speaking. The screen stayed dark save a for a series of red lines that grew larger and smaller depending on the volume of the noise.

“You thought we would back down so easily?” The voice asked. Calmly, evenly, addressing one person and one person only. “Try to tear us down, scare us away with pitifully low displays of dominance? You should know that they had no effect. We’ve come back stronger, a rising sun ready to cast dawn on a new era free of your terror.

“You’re the one who should be scared now.”

Wooyoung looked around the intersection as Yeosang spoke, stunned to see everyone paying attention, even cars in the street had stopped.

“Finally, we’ll show what we speak, the people will come to us. There’s no other choice.”

The black background began to give way to the flag they had designed all those years ago, blowing in a nonexistent wind.

“We heard your terms and we reject them,” Yeosang continued. “The citizens of this city deserve to know that you are not the solution to our problems as you so promise. You are the problem.

“Open your eyes.”

The last words were spoken in a whisper, echoing ominously around the square in a truly haunting way.

The screens went black once more before all of a sudden, it was like nothing even happened. They all went right back to their regularly scheduled showings.

“Wow,” Hongjoong exclaimed, breaking the silence. “That was… something.”

“Yeah,” was all Wooyoung felt confident adding to the conversation.

Seonghwa still hadn’t reacted at all…. Wooyoung wondered just what was hiding behind that perfectly applied mask.

No reaction at all, Wooyoung decided, was even more suspicious than a faked one.

~Yeosang~

Yeosang’s eyes flitted across all six of his monitors, fingers flying across his keyboard as a meaningless jumble of letters and symbols raced up each screen. He was so close to cracking this code; he was sure of it. It’d been four days since Hongjoong had miraculously been able to get Yeosang into Agony’s servers without anyone catching him in the act and two days since they’d broadcasted their answer to the Governor for all of the town square to see. Yeosang had been hard at work since then, trying to decrypt all the valuable information he now had at his fingertips. He had slept maybe a grand total of five hours, he couldn’t remember the last time he ate a full meal, and he was pretty sure only the caffeine was keeping him going at this point but he wasn’t going to stop now, not when he was so close. He was thoroughly convinced there wasn’t a line of code he couldn’t decipher through some means on this planet; even if it took him a couple of days a lot of sleepless hours, he’d get all their information eventually. Agony’s cyber defense was supposed to be one of the best in the world; that just gave Yeosang that much more motivation to prove his talent. There weren’t a whole lot of things he was confident in, but his prowess with technology was something he would gladly flaunt for the whole world to see.

Just a couple more rounds of decryption and he’d be through. Nothing to it.

He leaned back in his chair, letting the program he’d finished earlier today do its thing. He watched with complete focus as meaningless garble gave way to letters and words that actually made sense. Then all six of his screens flashed bright white, he flinched away from it but his eyes adjusted quickly. He waited for his computer to process what was happening, wondering if he had caused it to crash with an accidental infinite loop or if he had successfully gotten in; he really wasn’t sure yet. A few seconds ticked by with nothing happening. Yeosang sighed, pressing his spacebar a couple of times just to see if that would help things along.

It didn’t.

With another deep sigh, he pushed himself from his desk, rolling his chair back far enough so he’d be able to crawl underneath the desk. He was just about to hit the hard power button when the lighting in the room changed again. The only light he had was coming from his monitors so something must’ve changed. Slowly, Yeosang crawled back out from under his desk, eyes instantly focusing on the newly changed screens. They were a pleasant dark grey now with a deep purple insignia centered perfectly in the center. He blinked a couple of times, making sure what he was seeing was real.

He jumped up from the ground, letting out an excited shout of success. He was in. He’s successfully gotten around every security measure that Agony had boasted was un-hackable to all their adversaries. Sure, it’d taken him four days of practically non-stop work but he’d still succeeded where so many others had failed.

He sat happily back in his desk chair, getting himself situated properly and cracking his knuckles out. He pressed the enter key to enter the database; unsurprisingly though, it asked him for a clearance password. He wasn’t at all surprised by this. He’d been prepared for this.

With a few simple clicks, he began running another program to find the passwords he needed. Was testing every password possible a little impractical? Sure, but why change what he knew would work eventually?

While that ran in the background, Yeosang got to work on making sure that his presence within the database wasn’t noticed. If there was another thing he was good at besides his tech, it was being invisible. He wasn’t worried in the slightest. This was his element. Child’s play.

Another ten minutes and Yeosang was free to look at whatever he pleased with Agony’s servers. Too easy.

He spent the next couple hours combing through whatever piqued his interest. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular yet; once they had a more solid plan for moving forward, he would have a clearer objective.

He remembered all the times Ghost had mentioned their own files within Agony’s server so he searched up everyone’s name. He quickly realized something wasn’t quite right, however. First, he went looking for Hongjoong’s file, curious to see if Agony actually thought he was dead. Nothing came up. He tried Hongjoong’s parent’s names. Nothing there either. Their ID numbers. Blank. Hongjoong’s ID numbers, something only a few people even knew where given to him before he left. Nothing. A quick check of the source code for the server showed that there used to be something there but it was just gone now. Like someone had gone through a painstakingly deep clean to scrub Hongjoong from Agony’s servers.

Strange. Ghost hadn’t mentioned anything like this and he figured if the man actually had access to the servers then wouldn’t he know that Hongjoong had been erased from them?

Yeosang searched his own name next, shocked to find the same thing yet again. There was absolutely nothing. Nothing about him, nothing about his parents, nothing about the mission to assassinate them. There were breadcrumbs to show that there was once something where nothing now existed but that was it. This didn’t make any sense…

Choi San, nothing. Jung Wooyoung, a blank screen. Choi Jongho, no results found. The only thing he found even related to the team was a small excerpt about Mingi. All it said was “son of 500,000 credit debtor” and “Significant other: Jeong Yunho”. That was it. No other information was given. Considering how much money Mingi’s father supposedly owed Agony, however, it made sense that whoever had gone through and erased all their information couldn’t completely scrub Mingi and his family from the system. Someone would surely notice 500,000 credits suddenly disappearing but everyone else? Even Wooyoung’s father and San’s mother, who were both Agony employees, didn’t have files. Hongjoong and his family, all of whom had been actual rank eight agents, didn’t even have files anymore.

He searched up ATEEZ too, just to see what Agony had on file about the organization as a whole. Yet again, someone had gotten to that file too. Just pages upon pages of blank documents or broken links.

Just to make sure it wasn’t his computers or an error within his virus, Yeosang searched for Seonghwa’s file. He found it pretty quickly and found it to be completely intact. Everything was there. From his physical attributes to all his complete missions, to what he was supposedly working on now. Nothing was amiss.

So someone had erased their names. Was it Ghost? If it was him, why wouldn’t he tell the rest of the team? Or ever even bring up the fact that their files didn’t actually exist anymore? Agony thought ATEEZ was behind their data breach issue, or at least the agent’s Mingi interrogated sure thought so, but as far as Yeosang knew, he wasn’t behind any of this and no one in ATEEZ was tech-savvy enough to do it either. It had to be someone on the inside. Someone who could gain access to these files without raising any red flags. Could it have been—

“Whatcha looking at?”

Yeosang jumped in his seat, turning around and nearly decking Jongho in the face while he was at it. Jongho caught his arm before it could connect, however, and Yeosang realized just who had invaded his lair unannounced.

“You scared me.”

“I see that,” Jongho laughed, letting go of Yeosang and moving a bit. “I was trying not to sneak up on you but you were so deep in thought it was going to happen anyway.”

“Did you need something then?”

“Only to check on you, you’ve been working nonstop these past couple days. No one’s seen you leave so we’re all just a little worried you’re overworking yourself. I figured I’d tear you away from your computers. I know you’re not done and you’re very determined to get in and I love that about you but you need to—”

“I got in,” Yeosang said over Jongho’s ramblings.

“Take care of—wait. What?” Jongho stopped. “You did it?”

“I did it,” Yeosang affirmed with a large smile slowly beginning to form on his face. Jongho’s expression mimicked his as he rushed back forward to Yeosang. He scooped him up out of the chair with minimal effort, hugging him close as he spun him around. Yeosang giggled, clinging back onto Jongho until the younger man carefully placed him back down on the ground. Jongho started forward again, leaning down and tilting his head but he stopped himself short, averting his eyes in embarrassment. Yeosang rolled him, deciding the only way to get through to Jongho was to act. So he kissed him, instead. He had accomplished a great thing; he deserved a reward for his efforts and kissing Jongho was definitely reward enough.

When they pulled apart, Jongho looked a little dazed. How cute.

“So uhh… Did you—Did you find anything interesting…?” He managed to stutter out.

“But that’s just it!” Yeosang started suddenly, remembering the conundrum he’d been in moments before. Jongho cocked his head, waiting for him to elaborate. “There’s something strange going on.”

“Strange how?”

“I searched up our names in the database and except for a whole two, incomplete sentences on Mingi with an honorable Yunho mention, there was nothing. Like us and everything we’ve gone through never existed at all.”

“How do you know it was there in the first place? Did you check the source code?”

“Yeah of course I did and I—wait? How’d you know that?” Yeosang asked, realizing Jongho had just asked him a very tech-savvy question for someone who he thought wasn’t very at all.

“Oh uhh…” Jongho looked down, clearly not having meant to have said that at all. “I have a confession to make.”

“What is it?” He asked skeptically.

“I’m… not really all that clueless when it comes to tech. I’m actually a computer engineering major in school and I work as tech support at my mom’s shop.”

Yeosang stared at him, trying to process what had just been said to him. All those days…

“I just…” Jongho sighed deeply, steeling himself for what he was about to say next. “I really liked how excited you always got when you started explaining things to everyone, it was so cute. I’m still nowhere near your talent so sometimes I do actually learn things.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Yeosang asked. “I mean… you could’ve… we could’ve… I would have liked…”

Yeosang continued to try and get words out but quickly found that his brain just wasn’t processing what Jongho was telling him anymore. Maybe he was more tired than he originally thought. Jongho laughed as Yeosang quickly stuttered out. He stepped forward, picking Yeosang up out of his chair bridal style as if he weighed absolutely nothing. He latched onto Jongho, momentarily surprised but he knew the man wouldn’t drop him.

“I think it’s time you got something to eat and took a nap,” Jongho said. Yeosang nodded slowly. This was a rare moment in history. Yeosang had actually reached a point where he was too tired to argue that he wasn’t _that_ tired. He laid his head against Jongho’s chest, settling himself comfortably in his arms. He was so warm, so comforting. He could indulge himself a bit… couldn’t he?

“It’ll be our first official date.”

“That sounds nice,” he said around a yawn. “But could we do the nap first and then get dinner? You can stay with me, though. We can cuddle or something.”

“…Yeah… If that’s what you want…”

With one of the biggest smiles Yeosang had ever seen on his face, Jongho began to carry him out of the room to hopefully bring him to the warehouse basement where they could take a nap together. Just as they were about to leave entirely, however, a pleasant jingle began to sound from Yeosang’s computer setup. It took him a minute to remember what that was for but when it finally clicked, he was sent into full overdrive.

“Shit,” he exclaimed, rolling himself out of Jongho’s embrace and running back over to his monitors. He had to work face, he only had a limited amount of time.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Jongho asked, quickly following after him and leaning over his chair to get a better look at what Yeosang was now frantically working on.

“When Yunho and Mingi were staking out the Governor’s mansion in the beginning, they managed to get me a phone number that Seonghwa had been calling before disappearing into the house,” Yeosang started, explaining it as best he could with split attention. “But for whatever reason, I couldn’t trace the call. I still can’t, for fuck’s sake. Why does Agony have this technology that literally I came up with? No else knows how to do this as far as I know. I wrote the fucking code.”

A thought suddenly struck him like a lightning bolt. He froze.

“What is it?”

“I wrote the code,” Yeosang said again slowly. “Though that doesn’t make any sense. Hongjoong and Seonghwa hadn’t made contact yet by that point… Oh shit, shit, shit.”

Frantically, Yeosang scrambled for his earpiece around the desk. When he found it, he barely even had it in his ear before he was incessantly buzzing Hongjoong.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” he begged to no one in particular.

“Yeosang, what’s happening? What’s wrong?”

He felt like such an idiot for not seeing it sooner. There was no other explanation. No one had even questioned it when suddenly he knew everyone’s names despite no one having told him.

“I know who Ghost is.”

~Hongjoong~

“You’re late,” Ghost chastised as Hongjoong approached the man. They’d agreed to meet tonight to discuss their next plan of attack moving forward but Hongjoong had, like always, lost track of time. He only even remembered this meeting in the first place because the man had called him out of the blue.

“So you’ve already told me,” Hongjoong brushed off. “I’m terrible with times, probably best you called me or I would’ve forgotten entirely.”

The man laughed, shaking his head.

“At least you’re here now. I wanted to discuss—”

“Hold that thought. Sorry, Yeosang’s calling,” Hongjoong interrupted after multiple rather annoying alarm sounds went off through his earpiece, blaring into his ear. He accepted the call, listening to the man’s frantic explanation all the way through as a sinking feeling settled deeper and deeper in his stomach.

With lightning-fast reaction, Hongjoong pulled his gun from his hip and pointed it directly at Ghost without a word of explanation except for:

“Take the mask off.”

He’d been expecting a betrayal since the beginning; he just hadn’t thought it would be so grand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH I know it's been forever since I've updated and I apologize ;-; It's been a hard process with everything going on. But I'd like to thank everyone who joined the discord server my brother and I started up. It's been lit so far and I hope it continues to be that way in the future! I appreciate all the positivity you sent me and all the help you gave editing this chapter and reacting to it. Y'all are the best, Ily. 
> 
> As always:  
> Thanks for reading! I appreciate all of you for putting up with my erratic update schedule! All comments appreciated
> 
> Follow me on Twitter! @AAvery151  
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	7. Chapter 7

~Hongjoong~

“I’m not going to say it again, _Ghost._ Take. The fucking. Mask. Off,” Hongjoong seethed. He pressed the barrel of his gun harshly to the man’s chin, pinning him where he stood against one of their hideout’s outer walls. Ghost definitely had the strength and size advantage, but he made no move to counterattack. He looked completely taken aback, fake blue eyes wide with shock and hands raised in surrender. Up close like this Hongjoong could see what he’d been missing before. Even with colored contacts and black hair, there was no mistaking it. He felt so dumb, so utterly stupid He’d once thought he’d recognize him anywhere… How pathetic a thought… He’d existed right under his nose for so long and Hongjoong hadn’t had even the slightest of fucking clues. 

He was filled with anger, with betrayal, with _rage._ After everything they've been through, after everything they’d shared with one another, how could he not tell him? What other reason could he possibly have for deceiving them all this time except to turn on them when he had gotten what he wanted? He had no idea how the man had done it—being in two places at once in the same room was definitely a feat and a half—but he couldn’t even begin to think about all that right now. Not around all the anger, frustration… the sadness on such a scale he hadn’t been prepared for. 

All this time, it was he who had been used. Deceived. Betrayed. Heartbroken. 

“Woah, Woah, Woah! Calm down, what happened just now?” Ghost asked, sounding genuinely confused, if not a little frantic as well. “What did Yeosang tell you?” 

“What does it fucking matter what he told me?” Hongjoong yelled. He ripped his own mask off, throwing it somewhere to the side. “Take your mask off or I swear to fucking God, I will shoot you.” 

“Hongjoong, I can explain… everything—” 

“Don’t!” Hongjoong cut him off immediately. “Just do it!” 

He was so close to breaking down completely. He could feel tears forming in his eyes, feel hysterical sobs burning in the back of his throat. He wanted to scream, cry, curl up in a catatonic ball all at the same time. He hated that this was happening. Hated that his feelings were still so strong despite it all. He wanted to hear all the reasons. Wanted to hear his explanation. Wanted to make everything right so they could both be happy. But the possibility that happiness between the two of them could never be possible was too great a truth to handle at the moment. He needed to know. Needed to know if Yeosang got it right… He was desperate to find the truth. 

“Alright,” Ghost agreed. He moved slowly so as to not raise alarm and in case Hongjoong decided to freak out any more than he already was. He unhooked his facemask from one of his ears, letting it fall freely from his face, and revealing the handsome features of none other than Park Seonghwa. 

Hongjoong choked back a desperate sob, quickly distancing himself from the man and turning his back to him so he couldn’t see the tears that had started freely falling. 

“Hongjoong, please… It’s not what you’re thinking, I promise if you’d just let me explain, I told you I’d tell you everything…” 

Seonghwa sounded just as desperate, just as on the edge of an emotional breakdown as Hongjoong felt. He couldn’t hear this right now. He couldn’t deal with this right now. He couldn’t… couldn’t… 

Without a shred of hesitation, Hongjoong whipped himself back around to face who he had thought was the love of his life. He let his vision drift out of focus, blurred even further by the tears he wished he didn’t have to shed. If he looked at Seonghwa straight on, he knew he would cave in immediately. He couldn’t… He had to do this. For the sake of his family… He couldn’t put them at risk just because of his feelings. Seonghwa had always been the enemy. He knew he’d have to choose eventually, and he had a duty as a leader to make sure his team was safe from danger. Even if it meant his happiness. They couldn’t pretend any longer… 

He aimed his gun forward, clicking it fully loaded. 

Then, he pulled the trigger. 

~Wooyoung~

Wooyoung stepped up to the glass partition, observing the sole occupant of their interrogation cell. Seonghwa sat fidgeting in his chair, cuffed hands placed on the table in front of him. His eyes were focused forward with an almost unreadable expression on his face. The man must’ve really been anxious if his usually perfectly in place poker face was nowhere to be seen. He looked a complete mess, a ball of anxiousness. His knee bobbed up and down endlessly and it seemed like he couldn’t quite find a comfortable way to sit. The tips of his blond hair, which had been dyed black for his disguise with what looked like chalk paint, were beginning to run and rub off everywhere. His eyes were outlined with red and his cheeks a little puffier than normal. If Wooyoung had to guess, he’d say the man had been crying at some point during the time that they’d left him alone to stew. 

How ironic, Wooyoung thought, that their roles had reversed so dramatically. Now it was Seonghwa who sat broken at an interrogation table; though, they’d been broken in two different senses of the word. How the tables had turned. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it earlier; he hadn’t even had a clue, an inkling of suspicion. Especially not after seeing both Ghost and Seonghwa interacting in the same room… Ghost had shot him! There had to be something they were missing. Seonghwa had been such a convincing actor…

“I don’t know how I didn’t see it earlier,” Wooyoung said out loud to whoever would listen. 

“None of us saw it,” Yunho told him, stepping up to stand next to him at the glass. “Hindsight is 20/20 and all that.” 

“He was a good actor,” Yeosang agreed. “And none of us really knew what he was actually capable of in the first place.” 

“How’d you figure it out?” Wooyoung asked, turning away from the two-way mirror to face his friend. 

“Mingi and Yunho pulled a phone number Seonghwa had called last month when we were first starting the assignment,” Yeosang started. “I tried to trace it then but the encryption process that the signal went through was way too complex to decode in the short amount of time that we had. I thought this was strange because the process was something that I, myself, had coded.” 

“Are you saying Agony somehow stole some of your tech?” Wooyoung asked. 

“I thought that at first but when Seonghwa called the number again I realized what was actually happening. It was one of our numbers that he had been calling back then.” 

“Wait, how would Seonghwa have access to one of our phone numbers a month ago? Hongjoong didn’t make first-contact till that Friday after the meeting with Ghost.” 

“It didn’t make sense,” Yeosang agreed. “That’s why it didn’t even occur to me initially that he could’ve been calling one of our numbers. Agony somehow stealing my tech, as far-fetched as that was, still made more sense than Seonghwa calling one of us. But I ran the phone number through our program and found out it was a number it had generated to cloak Hongjoong’s actual one.” 

“That still doesn’t make any sense.” 

“Again exactly what I thought, but then if you remember what happened literally moments after the call ended that day?” 

“…Hongjoong… called us back to the warehouse,” Yunho filled in slowly. “He said that Ghost had gotten in contact with him and was on his way.” 

“Yeosang, you’re a genius,” Wooyoung laughed. “No one else would’ve figured any of that out.” 

“If only I could’ve run the number initially…” He trailed off. The look on his face told Wooyoung he was thinking of a million different ways he could’ve found out Ghost’s real identity sooner. 

“Don’t you go beating yourself up now, too,” Yunho laughed. “What matters is that we all know now.” 

“I think now is a little too late for Hongjoong…” Wooyoung said quietly. 

Before anyone could say anything more, the door to the room swung open. Hongjoong came through first, looking a million times calmer now than he had earlier when he had brought in an utterly shell-shocked Seonghwa, handcuffed and complacent. When he told the rest of the team what had happened, Seonghwa’s shaken state made a whole lot more sense. In a moment of completely understandable emotion, Hongjoong had fired a single shot from his gun, missing Seonghwa’s head by a fraction of an inch. He’d missed on purpose and Seonghwa had to have known that. Wooyoung didn’t know what kind of reaction Seonghwa had actually been expecting but it sure as hell wasn’t that. 

Jongho and Mingi came next, followed closely behind by San. The three of them all looked more uneasy than the last. No one was sure what was going to happen now, but they all knew it was going to be painful no matter what. San, upon meeting eyes across the room, immediately came to his side, offering a tense smile in greeting. 

“Anything happen? What’d I miss?” San asked quietly, leaning in close so they could talk more privately even being surrounded by the entire team. Everyone seemed to be paying attention to something different anyway, but they couldn’t be too careful. 

“No, he’s just been sitting there for a few hours. Hongjoong made it pretty clear that no one was to talk to him until he came back.” Wooyoung explained. 

San looked at Seonghwa, a look of empathy coming over his face as he probably noticed the same things Wooyoung had earlier. 

“And Hongjoong?” Wooyoung asked. “How’s he holding up?” 

“I mean… just look at him,” San responded. Both of them turned to look where Hongjoong stood now, alone, staring through the two-way glass at the prisoner within. Wooyoung was stunned, and frankly a little worried, to see absolutely no emotion on the man’s face. He always knew this moment was going to be hard for Hongjoong, but he really hadn’t expected a complete shutdown of emotion from the man. It seemed so out of his character… Seonghwa really had done a number on him… “I don’t think he’s said anything for hours.” 

“Man…” Wooyoung sighed. “We all knew it was going to be bad but this… this was definitely the worst possible outcome.” 

“Wooyoung,” Hongjoong called out before either of them could say anything more to one another. They both straightened up upon being addressed by such a commanding tone in Hongjoong’s voice. 

“Yes, Sir?” Wooyoung decided that being as formal as possible when Hongjoong was in this horribly strange mood was for the best.

“I want you to observe the interrogation,” Hongjoong instructed; he still hadn’t looked away from the glass window. “Any hint that he’s lying about anything, you tell me immediately. San, you too. I—We need to find out the truth. We don’t have time for his games.” 

“Right,” Wooyoung agreed immediately, San nodded as well. “But… Are you sure you should be the one to interrogate—” 

“That was an order, Wooyoung.” 

“Yes, Sir.” 

Without another word, Hongjoong tore himself away from the window and entered the interrogation cell. The room was filled with tense silence, each of them waiting for the fiery train wreck they knew was about to go down but none of them could look away. 

Upon realizing who had entered the room, Seonghwa immediately sat up in his chair. He tried to stand and meet him across the room but the handcuffs attaching him to the table stopped him from going too far. He had such a desperate look on his face causing Wooyoung to feel an indiscernible mix of emotions. He wanted to allow himself to feel bad for the guy but… if he really had betrayed them all this time… 

One thing was for sure, Wooyoung could tell without a shred of doubt that the expression Seonghwa wore was real; he didn’t think it was possible to fake such raw desperation.

“Hongjoong… Please, I just need to—” Seonghwa started, his voice cracking over the words. It sounded as if he’d start crying at any moment. Hongjoong held no sympathy for him, cutting him off sharply without an ounce of remorse to be seen. 

“Shut up,” Hongjoong ordered; Wooyoung didn’t think he’d ever heard that tone of voice… He crossed the room in a few strides, sitting down at the table before commanding: “Sit down.” 

Seonghwa listened immediately, shutting his mouth and quickly placing himself back in his chair across from Hongjoong. 

“Let me tell you how this is going to go,” Hongjoong started. “I’m going to ask you questions and you’re going to answer them. If you lie, this ends. Immediately. Do you understand?” 

Seonghwa nodded. 

“…But if you’d just let me—” 

“Have you always operated under the Ghost codename?” Hongjoong asked, completely ignoring another one of Seonghwa’s attempts to explain himself. 

“Yes, I’m Ghost. The real deal for five years now,” Seonghwa answered. “There’s an easier way to do this, if—” 

“Have you been acting as a spy between ATEEZ and Agony?” 

“I’ve been acting as a spy _for_ ATEEZ _against_ Agony for _years.”_

“…What?” Hongjoong asked, shock finally breaking through his cold exterior. 

“Will you let me explain myself now? Or are you going to keep pretending like the past month didn’t happen?” 

Hongjoong’s eyes flitted to the two-way mirror and then back to Seonghwa, clearly asking for the team’s input on Seonghwa’s question. Wooyoung felt like he owed Seonghwa this much after everything he’d done for them. 

“What have you got to lose?” Wooyoung asked through their commlink. “You _know_ this doesn’t have to end here.” 

He was silent for a moment, thinking through all of his options very carefully. He gave a deep sigh: 

“Fine, but if you lie at all…” he caved. 

“I have no reason to lie,” Seonghwa agreed. “I know what all this looks like and I know what you’re all thinking; I’d be thinking the same thing in your position, but I swear to God I’m on your side. I’ve _always_ been on your side for _years.”_

Hongjoong didn’t say anything, waiting for Seonghwa to continue. The room outside was just as tense, everyone waiting to finally understand what had been going on all this time. 

“When my father took control of Agony, a lot of things changed at a very fast pace. I was too young to understand most of what was actually happening around me, but I do remember one change that stayed with me particularly _because_ I couldn’t understand it. I couldn’t understand for the life of me why this boy my age who always sat right in the front every day suddenly stopped showing up to our elementary training courses and _no one_ would acknowledge his disappearance. I hadn’t even talked to him before, not once had he looked in my direction, but I was seemingly the only one who remembered him. I found out years later what had happened. 

“When I was allowed access to the database, I got a little curious. I could never figure out why everyone had acted like absolutely nothing had changed. I didn’t even know the boy’s name; I just had a faded memory of a face. It took a while, but I found him in the system, and I was left with more questions than answers. Kim Hongjoong, killed by Agent 797 along with his parents for “betraying” their family. Made to look like an accident. The newspaper the day after had said that the family of three had died in a freak fire accident and no further investigation was being carried out. 

“I just… couldn’t understand it. Agony always preached to its Agents how tight-knit the organization was, how camaraderie and fellowship was everything to foster a positive environment for the success of everyone. What complete and utter bullshit, propaganda, straight-up brainwashing and I had been the victim of it for so long. I finally understood why my mother was always so adamant I leave the house with her while my brother and father “talked business” with other agents.” 

“Why are you telling me all this?” Hongjoong asked. 

“Because I _need_ you to understand, I have _never_ been on Agony’s side,” Seonghwa pleaded, practically begging for Hongjoong to believe him. 

“Then who’s side have you been on? You wouldn’t go with Wooyoung, you wouldn’t leave with _me,_ ” Hongjoong countered. His voice cracked over the end of his sentence, betraying his emotions to everyone in the room, including Seonghwa if the way his expression turned even more distraught than before was anything to go by. 

“You have no idea how badly I wanted to,” he said quietly, his eyes downcast. “But I couldn’t, I still can’t. Not yet, not until ATEEZ can destroy Agony. For so long, I’ve been your eye on the other side that you never even knew existed.” 

“We got all our information on Agony from the street.” 

“Who do you think leaked that information in the first place?” Seonghwa asked. “Why do you think Agony has been unable to so much as know what you all look like after all this time? You guys are good, I’ll give you that, but talent will only get you so far against literally hundreds of people all looking for you.” 

“You say that yet want me to believe one person on the inside was able to counteract all that?” 

“It wasn’t easy…” Seonghwa agreed. “I set up an AI to catch and erase most of the important information, but I would check to make sure it actually got everything, too. There were a couple of times I almost got caught but it was all I had, all I could do for the longest time…

“After I found out the truth behind what had happened and what had been happening to people and families every time they so much as displayed a _hint_ of what Agony deemed a betrayal, I decided I wasn’t going to play their game any longer. I couldn’t just leave, though. Where would I go? I was only twelve, they’d be able to kill me in a heartbeat without a shred of remorse. You saw how casually my father held a gun to an eight-year-old’s head…

“So I started playing along. I acted the dutiful second son for years, devoting myself to my studies and the brutal training they put me through. I figured if I couldn’t beat them yet, I’d learn all their tricks in order to eventually beat them, become someone they couldn’t kill in a heartbeat. I didn’t give them a reason to ever suspect me in the beginning, followed every order, every assignment. I was doing a pretty damn good job too, earned my rank rather than just having it handed to me, but then… then my official initiation was assigned to me. 

“I told you about this part of my life,” Seonghwa started quietly. His emotions became much more guarded all of a sudden; Wooyoung figured this topic was a difficult one for him to talk about. He was guarding his emotions to keep himself from breaking down completely rather than to lie to them all. “When I found out that I’d have to kill someone… I couldn’t do it. I broke down, begged my father for something, anything else to prove my loyalty but all he saw was weakness, an unwillingness to fight for my “family”. 

“He had a gun to my head when my mother found us and… well… She traded her life for mine and I could do nothing but sit there and watch. I was, I think understandably, in a pretty dark place from that moment on, one that I never really moved away from for a long while. I killed that man I was assigned the next night… I did it without hesitation, became a murderer at fifteen and I’m absolutely terrified of what I could’ve become. I wish I had been creative enough back then to find another way but after watching my mom die, I felt so lost, like I didn’t have any other choice but to comply with everything that Agony wanted me to be. This was my life now; you play the part for so long, you start to become it, after all. 

“But then rumors of a soloist started surfacing. The ever-elusive Pirate King who was making a name for himself by disrupting Agony’s business in any way he could. I was inspired by his determination, by his complete fearlessness in the face of such a huge adversary. Just one person against a whole corporation? Something right out of myth and legend, yet it was happening right in front of me.” 

“When did you learn my true identity?” Hongjoong asked. 

“Around the same time Yeosang did,” Seonghwa answered. “We followed the same paper trail, ran into each other’s code a couple of times in our search. I didn’t know who he was at the time so I just kind of assumed it was you looking into your own past until the agent Illusion joined Pirate King’s operations.” 

Wooyoung turned to look at Yeosang for confirmation. Yeosang, however, wasn’t paying any attention to anything happening around him. He was thoroughly spaced out, staring at the table he was seated behind as seemingly millions of thoughts raced through his head. When it became clear that Yeosang wasn’t going to snap himself out of it by himself, Jongho elbowed him gently. Yeosang blinked a few times rapidly, coming back to reality slowly. 

“What? Oh yeah, I did run into someone else’s code while I was digging through those archives. I just ignored it at the time because I was so focused on finding Hongjoong back then… I never thought about going back and trying to figure out who else could’ve possibly been looking for him too before I erased the entire trail.” 

“Did you get that?” Wooyoung asked, directing his question at Hongjoong through the earpiece. Hongjoong tapped his finger twice on the table to show that he understood. 

“My search led me to a detective within the police department, one of the first responders to the “accident”,” Seonghwa continued on, oblivious to the exchange that had just occurred through the glass. “I tracked him down anonymously and he told me a wildly different story than what the newspapers or the Agony reports contained. When the emergency call was placed and he showed up to the scene, the fire hadn’t been very big yet. He said he’d ran into the building because there were reports of people who could be trapped inside. What he found, were two adults who had already been murdered with a shot to the head before the fire had even reached them. He’d checked the child’s room, finding a shockingly similar sight. But instead of a shot to the head, the child had been shot in the stomach and was miraculously still alive. 

“He quickly figured something strange was happening, there was clearly more to the story than just an accidental fire. He couldn’t stand to leave a _child_ to the mercy of Agony so instead, he snuck the ten-year-old to the hospital and filed a fake crime report completely unrelated to the fire. And when I knew you were still alive and what trail to follow from there on out, it wasn’t hard to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

“That’s when I decided I _had_ to do something. If this child who had had everything taken away from him could find the strength to fight back against the people who put him there, then I could do everything in my power to help. I created Ghost, a memorial to all the people Agony had murdered in cold blood.” 

“Why the fox mask.” 

“I thought that would be obvious to you now…” 

“For me?” 

“You’re the reason I started defecting in the first place, I had to honor you in some way, even if you would never realize it,” Seonghwa explained. “And since the fox rank is what you would’ve been in had you never left, I thought it was fitting.” 

“So? You still worked as an Agony agent and as Ghost at the same time? Kind of counterproductive, isn’t it?” Hongjoong asked, pointedly ignoring the admiration Seonghwa had just admitted to him.

“I…” Seonghwa started carefully. “I lied to you, the other day… about my kill count.” 

“In what way?” Hongjoong eyes narrowed as he waited for Seonghwa to elaborate. 

“After rumors of Ghost started circulating the street, my father was absolutely livid that someone from Agony could’ve been acting against them without anyone being able to find him. In a moment of rage, he ordered the death of every rank eight agent in the organization and their families to tie up loose ends. This was… distressing, to say the least,” Seonghwa said, eyes clouding slightly as he remembered painful memories. “It was my fault those people, most of them innocent or had been just trying to stay alive ever since my father took over, were being sentenced to death. I took the assignment before anyone else could. I knew that if I did any of this wrong, I would be the one dying and then those agents were doomed anyway, but I had to at least try.” 

“Are you implying that you _smuggled_ over two hundred people away from Agony?” 

“That’s exactly what I did, I used Ghost to contact these people, fake their deaths, find them new identities, new places to live and more than enough resources to make it until they were on their feet again,” Seonghwa answered. “Then, after hiding each of them, I would report their deaths to Agony as successfully taken out.” 

“Why lie to me, then?” 

“I didn’t want you asking questions on how I managed to hide each of them away, or I was afraid that you would make the ties between some of the rumors surrounding Ghost and his ability to help people escape Agony and my story.” 

“You said you were afraid that assignment would kill you.”

“I thought it would, but not because of murder but because the threat of death was around every corner.” 

“How long have you been protecting ATEEZ?” 

“For as long as you’ve all been a common name,” Seonghwa answered. “I followed you and your actions closely. That detective who helped you originally, Eden I think he goes by on the street, was my number one source of information on you and your organization’s movements. Once I knew what you were doing, I’d funnel just enough information out onto the street through him.” 

“And our files in Agony’s database?” 

“There are hundreds of Agony agents and whenever they find a useful bit of information, they’ll log it in the database for someone else to file away for the higher-ups of the organization to review,” Seonghwa started. “There were many times you all were almost found out. Whenever I could, I would erase anything related to you guys to keep the higher-ups from ever knowing anything. Obviously, I had other data erased within the database too to make sure I didn’t accidentally give you all away in my attempts to hide you. There were some things I just couldn’t erase, though, without raising red flags. Like Mingi’s father’s debt. I could’ve had it paid off but if Mingi’s family began asking questions, I’d be giving myself away. Even when I was interrogating Wooyoung, I purposefully asked him obvious questions in hopes of getting him to realize what I was doing. I had to make my attempts look convincing to the other agents watching but I didn’t want Wooyoung to accidentally give important information away, either.” 

“I knew it!” Wooyoung shouted, feeling rather smart for having figured that one out. Everyone in the room immediately shushed him as the interrogation continued onward. 

“Alright, how the _hell_ were you supposedly Ghost and Seonghwa at the same time?” 

Seonghwa gave a short laugh. 

“I knew that would come up eventually,” he said. “I was there as Ghost that day, physically. I’m a little surprised Wooyoung never mentioned the numbers I showed to the agents we ran into during the breakout. I thought for sure that was how you’d all figure it out…” 

“Imma be real with you, boss,” Wooyoung started through the earpiece in reference to those comments. “I completely forgot about the numbers after everything else that had happened that day. And you know, the torture the day before didn’t exactly help my state of mind.” 

A minute eye roll told Wooyoung Hongjoong heard what he said. He was _definitely_ going to get in trouble for that later… 

“So then the Seonghwa that Wooyoung and San saw? That they watched you shoot? Who was he?” Hongjoong asked. 

“From the equipment that you confiscated from me, there’s a small capsule about the size of a medicine bottle. If you open it, a hundred or so nano-drones will disperse around the room. Yeosang’s not-boyfriend-now-boyfriend actually gifted him a set of similar drones for his birthday a few weeks ago.” 

Yunho began sifting through the box of gadgets they’d taken from Seonghwa upon his incarceration. Just as he had said, there was a small black cylinder amongst the other pieces of technology. Yunho handed the container over to Yeosang, letting the tech expert handle what was probably a very expensive set of equipment. Carefully, Yeosang twisted open the lid. Nothing happened at first, a little underwhelming, but Wooyoung figured they weren’t called “nano-drones” for nothing. A few seconds passed when suddenly a series of lights flashed around the room, coming from seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The next thing Wooyoung knew, a perfect replica of Seonghwa in his Agony uniform was standing in the middle of the room, staring blankly at the wall he faced. Everyone jumped nearly a foot in the air, none of them had expected anything like that to happen at all. 

“Wow,” Yeosang exclaimed after his initial shock. “That’s… That’s genius.” 

“You’re telling me you’ve never seen anything like this before?” Mingi asked from behind Yunho, hiding behind the man a little in his fear. 

“I’ve never seen these used for this purpose before,” Yeosang admitted. “The nano-drones come equipped with microphones and cameras normally, but it wouldn’t take much to mod them into doing exactly the opposite of recording video and sound. With enough drones, you create what looks like a 3D image. The same could be done to create a realistic voice effect, too.” 

“I’d been training an AI to think and act like me for a while in case a scenario where I needed to be two places at once ever occurred. Once it was in place, I’d just need to set the program to auto and it would react to its surroundings in a manner close enough to my own that no one would ever notice a difference. The AI would analyze its surroundings and manipulate the projections and voice effects to its needs. I programmed the reaction to getting shot especially for that day, though, since it doesn’t have an actual body to react with,” Seonghwa explained. “I put the Seonghwa-AI in place not to trick you all into thinking Ghost was someone else but to make sure Agony didn’t start to catch on. If Wooyoung escaped from his cell and I was nowhere to be seen even though I was supposed to be on duty, that would’ve been enough to get me killed on the suspicion of treason and I couldn’t risk that. I was already on thin ice when I was one of the people my father hadn’t trusted with the knowledge of the convoy setup.

“It was a gamble, though, on both sides of the conflict. If anyone, Agony or ATEEZ, tried to touch the fake Seonghwa my plan would fall apart in an instant, but I had to take that risk.” 

Hongjoong didn’t say anything for a minute; Wooyoung couldn’t blame his uneasiness. What now? They couldn’t just continue on business as usual, could they? Too much had changed in such a short amount of time. Wooyoung wanted to be able to trust Seonghwa—he especially wanted Hongjoong to be happy—but could they really? Seonghwa had demonstrated time and time again that he was a _very_ good actor. The differences between Ghost’s personality and Seonghwa’s were stark; he’d been so convincing, no one had so much as suspected him from the beginning. Even all of this could be a plot to betray them to Agony in the end. Albeit a very well thought out and detailed plot, but a potential plot nonetheless. On the other hand, however… Seonghwa had risked his life _for years_ if his story was true even when ATEEZ had no idea they were profiting from his sacrifices. He’d endured days of torture for Wooyoung, went in with painstaking detail to erase every bit of information on ATEEZ from Agony’s files, maneuvered them out of countless tough spots despite the odds. Wooyoung really didn’t know what to do… He couldn’t imagine the choice was any easier for Hongjoong, either. 

“What now, Seonghwa?” Hongjoong asked with a bitter laugh. “What do you expect me to do now?” 

“We take down Agony, despite what your feelings about me are now. We end all the suffering once and for all and, if you wanted, you’d never have to see me again.” 

“And what if we had never discovered that you were Ghost? What would you have done then?” 

“I don’t expect much to change now that you do know my identity. I’ve known from the start that taking down Agony would mean my own eventual downfall as well. I’ve been associated with the brand for too long. The names of the people I saved are recorded as assassinations in the Agony databases, after all.” 

“And you were prepared to just… take the blame? Let everyone think you were an irredeemable monster right along with the rest of your family?” 

“I’ve been living with people thinking that my whole life, it would’ve been nothing new.” 

“And what if ATEEZ hadn’t accepted your job offer in the first place? What would you have done then?” 

Now it was Seonghwa’s turn to go quiet for a few moments. Wooyoung could read the pain off his face clear as day; Hongjoong’s question clearly put him through some sort of inner turmoil. 

“I said I was in a dark place after my mother died that I didn’t get out of for a while, didn’t I? If ATEEZ hadn’t accepted my offer… that probably would’ve been the catalyst that set me on the path to my last resort…” 

“Which was?”

 _Cut the guy some slack,_ Wooyoung wanted to say. Seonghwa looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment once more. Hongjoong pressed forward, however. Either completely oblivious to the pain he was causing or completely apathetic to it. 

“Take down the Governor, and ideally my brother too, myself,” Seonghwa answered, his tone deadly serious. 

“You would’ve been killed for that.” 

“That would’ve been part of the plan.” 

Suddenly, something Seonghwa had said to him back in Agony’s prison made a whole lot more sense to Wooyoung now. _I recently found a reason to keep living._ Wooyoung wondered if it was ATEEZ that Seonghwa had been searching for the approval of or just simply Hongjoong himself. 

“Why then? Why did ATEEZ accepting your offer change your plans?” 

“Are you actually asking me that question?” Seonghwa asked, hurt beginning to shine through now. His voice rose in volume as it then turned rapidly into anger. “Are you actually asking me why meeting you and _falling in love with you_ made me rethink murdering my family and effectively committing suicide?” 

“That’s not what the question was.” 

“Alright, Hongjoong, let me answer _your_ question, then. I didn’t murder my family and get myself killed in the process because I wanted to see _you_ every god damn day of my life and I couldn’t exactly do that if I was dead, now could I?! You told me, _you promised me,_ last week that everything you’d done, everything you’d said had been true. You told me that you loved me and suddenly it felt like my miserable existence actually _meant_ something. Well, now it’s my turn to tell you that everything _I’ve_ done, everything _I’ve_ said, whether you saw it or even knew it was me at all, has been true. At first, my feelings were strictly admiration because of how resilient you are but then I actually saw you in person, talked to you for the first time and I couldn’t help myself.” 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“How can you be so cold?” Seonghwa asked, his voice breaking. “I know you felt the same way… You can’t tell me you didn’t. If I’d come to ATEEZ as Park Seonghwa, none of you would have ever in a million years agreed to help me. I _had_ to come as Ghost. I _had_ to deceive you for the time being and believe me, when I said that I would tell you everything eventually, I meant it. Even if it was in a letter sent to you from prison before I was executed, I would’ve made sure you knew the whole truth because I couldn’t look you in the eye and say ``I love you” when I’d been lying to you for so long without wanting to throw myself off a building.” 

Wooyoung could see Hongjoong’s mask breaking down, the walls he’d built up beginning to come crashing. He saw the fear and uncertainty, the pain and heartbreak, but most overwhelmingly the desire to believe every word Seonghwa was saying in a constant battle with reluctance. 

“Do you know what kept me going for the five days I was locked away in a silence chamber as my punishment for letting Wooyoung escape?” Seonghwa asked quietly. “The thought of never getting to tell you how I really felt, of never getting to hold you again or getting to see that beautiful smile, the one that’s reserved especially for me.” 

“I can’t do this, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong broke, his voice shaken with uncertainty and barely held back tears. “You _know_ why I can’t do this.” 

“So that’s just it then?” He asked. Wooyoung hated that this conversation had to happen when the entire team was watching. They deserved their privacy while they figured this out, but it was too late to stop any of it now. “You’re just going to give up? After everything that we’ve already been through?” 

“What would you have me do?! What can I do?!” Hongjoong shouted back, sounding so lost even Wooyoung felt like crying for his friend. 

“Why didn’t you tell the team I helped you find the servers in the mansion?” Seonghwa snapped back immediately 

“W-What?” Hongjoong asked, confused by the sudden question. 

“You never told the rest of the team that I caught you while you were looking for the access terminals. You didn’t tell them that I led you to where they actually were. Why?” 

“You know the answer to that question,” Hongjoong mumbled back, averting his eyes. 

“Say it out loud, Hongjoong!” Seonghwa shouted, slamming his hands on the table as he stood up. He leaned over it, looming into Hongjoong’s space to goad him even further. “Because god damn it, I’m not letting you just give up! Say it!” 

“It’s because I love you!” Hongjoong yelled back just as fiercely, jumping up out of his chair, and knocking it over in the process, as he met Seonghwa’s challenge head-on. “Because I didn’t want the rest of the team to think you were betraying us because _I know_ you’d never do that to us, you’d never do that _to me!”_

A sob wracked through Hongjoong as he finished. He covered his eyes with a hand as tears began to flow freely down his face. An equally heartbroken expression took over Seonghwa’s features as he quickly flew around the table to pull Hongjoong flush against his chest. He hushed him quietly, letting the man cry into his abdomen while he rubbed his back soothingly. 

“I’m sorry,” Hongjoong sobbed. “I’m so, so sorry.” 

“Shh, I know, it’s okay,” Seonghwa assured over and over again. 

“I just… I didn’t know what I was going to do if… if…” 

“I’m on your side, Hongjoong. I’ve _always_ been on your side.”

The two of them stayed attached to one another like that for another moment before Wooyoung realized something. 

“…Wasn’t he in handcuffs…?” He asked, noting the sudden lack of bindings separating Hongjoong from Seonghwa. 

“I saw him pick the lock about five minutes ago,” Mingi spoke up. 

“And… we didn’t stop him?” 

Mingi shrugged: 

“I don’t think he’s going to hurt Hongjoong of all people.” 

“You have a point there.” 

After another few moments and a prolonged shared kiss wherein everyone else pretended as if they were doing anything but watching the drama unfolding before them, the pair exited the interrogation room, both red-eyed and looking absolutely exhausted. 

The room was silent as they entered, no one quite knowing what to say now that everything was all out on the table. Wooyoung decided he would be the first to break the tension. 

“You’ll need a new codename,” he said. 

“Excuse me?” 

“For someone so smart, you’re really _slow_ ,” Wooyoung said with an eye roll. “If you’re going to be joining ATEEZ officially now, you’re going to need a new codename. Ghost doesn’t quite fit our vibe.” 

“I don’t—” Seonghwa started, looking a little overwhelmed. “I don’t… _Am I_ joining ATEEZ officially?” 

He looked down at Hongjoong first as Hongjoong looked at the rest of his team. 

“You’ve already done so much for us if your story is true,” Yeosang started. “At least the part about him erasing everything about us from Agony’s servers is true, I saw that firsthand last night.” 

“You saved Wooyoung’s life,” San added. “We all saw that even if it wasn’t exactly you we watched get shot…” 

“Why wouldn’t we let you join our team?” Yunho concluded. 

Both Seonghwa and Hongjoong looked at the rest of the team in stunned silence. There were no objections, not after the display they’d just watched. Wooyoung hadn’t detected an ounce of deception in any of the words Seonghwa had said; what did they have to lose at this point? There were so many points in time Seonghwa could’ve ended them all and yet he hadn’t. If he were truly only trying to garner their trust, he’d jumped through entirely too many unnecessary hoops and taken incredibly dangerous risks. 

Hongjoong looked at Wooyoung next, a question clear as day on his face. Wooyoung gave a small shrug of his shoulders. It was up to Hongjoong at this point. They would follow wherever he led them, even if it meant their own demise. If he felt they could trust him, then they’d trust his judgment. Hongjoong broke out into a bright smile, before turning back to Seonghwa. Seonghwa’s own shock seemed to deepen, clearly having expected every outcome except this one.  

“Oh… Wow, okay.” Seonghwa laughed quietly. “I didn’t expect to—” 

“We don’t need a speech, blondie,” Wooyoung cut him off. “Just think of a codename.” 

“Well, I don’t really know… I never thought I’d get this far,” Seonghwa admitted quietly. 

“Alright, then it’s decided. Your new name is Horizon,” Wooyoung announced, clapping his hands together. 

“Why?” 

“Because you’re ‘our new dawn shining over the horizon’, or something poetic like that. Don’t think too hard about it,” Wooyoung dismissed. Seonghwa broke out into a bright smile, despite all Wooyoung’s attempts to pretend like he didn’t care. 

“Horizon it is then,” he agreed. 

“You’re officially the eighth member of ATEEZ,” Hongjoong decided. 

“We’re lucky to have you.” Yunho then added: “But I’ve got to ask… Did Ghost really have to be such an insufferable ass all the time?” 

~Yeosang~

With Seonghwa officially instituted among ATEEZ’s ranks, the now eight-manned team made their way out of their hideout’s basement into Yeosang’s computer room. Since Ghost’s identity was now revealed to them, they all knew what cards they had to work with. There was only one thing left to do. They needed to start hitting Agony back and they had to hit hard. 

Yeosang couldn’t imagine that after delivering their answer in such a public way—news broadcasts were still talking about it even days later—that the Governor and the entirety of Agony would just leave them alone and they certainly weren’t going down without a fight, either. They needed to make a move before Agony could retaliate.

The only issue was Yeosang had absolutely no idea where to even begin. Sure, they had access to all Agony’s information now, but what good would all that do if they didn’t have a clue what to do with it? They needed to get at the Governor, that much was clear, but _how_ they were going to accomplish such a feat was completely lost on Yeosang. He hoped Seonghwa or Hongjoong had some semblance of a plan, otherwise… this was going to be a very long and painful meeting.

“But seriously, did you have to _kiss_ me while acting as Ghost?” Hongjoong asked, adding to Yunho’s complaints as they filed into the room. This was news to Yeosang. Very interesting news at that.

A red hue started to grow on Seonghwa’s face.

“I just… really wanted to kiss you after our first date but obviously I didn’t because I was so nervous, but the persona I had built for Ghost was a risk-taker and confident. If he wanted to kiss you, he’d just do it,” Seonghwa explained.  

“Wait, wait, wait,” San broke in. “You _kissed_ Hongjoong? When we only knew you as Ghost?”

“…Yes…?” He phrased it more as a question, more than likely afraid of the repercussions of such an admittance.

“Wow, Ghost really was a huge asshole,” San sighed, shaking his head.

“I needed to create a persona that disguised me,” Seonghwa defended. “So I went with something that was as far from my actual personality as possible.”

“Well, you definitely hit the nail on the head,” Yunho agreed.

“What would you have done had Hongjoong been more receptive to your advances as Ghost?” Wooyoung asked, looking very intrigued on the matter.

“I wouldn’t have been,” Hongjoong interjected.

“Yeah, but hypothetically?”

“I guess I would’ve improvised some blindfolds until I was able to tell him the truth of who I was,” Seonghwa said.

Hongjoong let out a loud laugh at this new information before immediately slapping a hand over his mouth, looking horrified by his own reaction. Even with Yeosang’s very limited people skills, he could tell Hongjoong seemed rather intrigued by such an idea and if the way Seonghwa quirked an eyebrow at the display was anything to go by, he had come to the same conclusion. Gross. Yeosang didn’t need to know absolutely anything about their developing sex life. He had his own things to worry about in that regard.

“So what next?” Wooyoung was the first to speak up again, breaking the silence that had fallen over everyone at Hongjoong’s outburst and changing the subject so Hongjoong didn’t combust on the spot from embarrassment. They needed to get back on topic anyway. There were more important things to discuss than what kinks Hongjoong may or may not have. “Where do we even start now?”

“We have complete access to Agony’s servers thanks to Hongjoong and Seonghwa’s hard work,” Yeosang started. Before he could say more, Jongho interjected:

“And yours.”

Yeosang cleared his throat, a little flustered by the admiration clear in Jongho’s tone.

“Right and mine,” Yeosang amended. “But even with all that information, it’s useless without a clear plan on what to look for.”

“That’s a good point,” Yunho agreed, grabbing a chair and getting comfortable for the long haul. “Do we have a plan? I mean, if anyone would have something of an idea on where to start it would be…”

He let his sentence trail off as he looked in Seonghwa’s direction. The rest of ATEEZ did the same, all waiting for whatever insight the man had on this seemingly impossible situation. Upon realizing everyone was looking at him, Seonghwa straightened up, giving a small sigh as if he had been expecting as much.

“Well, to state the obvious, we need to give irrefutable proof to law enforcement that my family is directly linked to Agony and everything it’s done for the past twelve years,” Seonghwa began.

“Well duh,” Wooyoung mocked. “But how do we do that when most of the police department is in Agony’s pocket?”

“Though that might be true, the police are still public servants. Have any of you been paying attention to the public’s response to all your calls to action?” Seonghwa countered. “Everyone and their mother knows who you are now and are rooting for your success.”

“How does that help us with the police department?” Mingi asked. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s great we have the support of the people but what does that give us?”

“It gives people hope, the courage to stand against what used to be an unstoppable adversary,” Seonghwa said. “ATEEZ has lasted so much longer against Agony than every other organization that came before you and tried to do that same.”

“So you’re saying that even officers who’ve been paid off by Agony are willing to help?” Yunho asked.

“The only person in the police department who’s been paid off is their chief, who’s actually a rank six agent himself. All the other officers and workers comply out of fear for their lives and their family’s,” Seonghwa said. “And more and more of them are becoming increasingly willing to risk all that to help you stop Agony for good.”

“Us,” Hongjoong corrected.

“To help us stop Agony,” Seonghwa fixed, smiling sweetly at the man. “I have a few contacts in the department that would be willing to file the necessary paperwork to condemn my family if we can secure the proof.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Wooyoung said, sarcasm practically dripping from his words.

“So how do we do that?” San asked, sounding only slightly more positive than Wooyoung. “The Governor has been untouchable for _years._ ”

“That’s because no one on the inside has ever come forward and everyone has been starting in the wrong place.”

“What’s the right place?” Jongho asked.

“First we need to tie Agony to my father’s company. To do that we need to get law enforcement into their corporate building.”

“You’re not suggesting that we infiltrate and capture the Agony corporate building, are you?” Wooyoung asked, voicing everyone’s worries.

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

Everyone was absolutely silent, the room so quiet that Yeosang could hear Jongho breathing next to him. What Seonghwa was suggesting… it was suicide! There were only eight of them and hundreds of Agony agents. If they were to go anywhere near that skyscraper with the intention to enter, the entire organization would be on them in an instant. They’d only barely managed to sneak in and save Wooyoung and that was only due to Seonghwa pulling strings from the inside and his quick thinking. Their only goal had been to get in, get out, and make as little noise as possible. Now, however, if they were to follow Seonghwa’s plan, they’d have to get in, stay in, and hold it despite the building literally being a nest of enemies.

“Are you crazy?” Wooyoung asked, once again the first to break the heavy silence. “Maybe you hit your head or something and don’t remember but I seem to recall sneaking in and out of that corporate building to be _extremely_ difficult and now your suggesting we _capture it?!_ ”

“I know it sounds crazy—”

“Crazy? No, what Wooyoung meant to say was absolutely _insane!”_ San said, cutting him off.

“There’s only eight of us and hundreds of them. We don’t have any back-ups, it’s just us,” Mingi agreed, adding to San and Wooyoung’s points. “We’d all be gunned down the second we stepped foot on the sidewalk.”

“But that’s exactly what Agony wants you to think, remember?” Seonghwa cut in, raising his voice a bit so no one would speak over him again. “Yeosang, have you read any of Agony’s current status reports after your second broadcasted message?”

“No, I haven’t,” Yeosang admitted; he hadn’t even thought about looking into that sort of thing after everything that had happened today. “I only gained full access to the servers late last night and then with everything else that happened…. I haven’t had the chance.”

“I figured as much. The meeting I wanted to have with Hongjoong last night was actually going to be about those reports,” Seonghwa began explaining. “Agony has always put up the front that they have hundreds of highly-trained agents at their disposal; they even tell everyone within the organization these lies. But, in actuality, only the higher-ranking agents, rank six and above, are the agents that are anywhere near what could be considered “highly-trained”. And after the ordered execution of every rank eight agent, not many high-ranking agents stuck around. There’s maybe twenty to thirty of them in total completely loyal to the organization.”

“What about all the other ranks?” Yunho asked.

“Everyone else is in the organization because they didn’t have a choice. I’m sure a couple of you know very well that your parents aren’t “highly-trained” in any sort of the word. Most have been blackmailed into submission, too afraid of the repercussions trying to leave would bring and forced to do petty crimes to solidify their involvement.”

“Why don’t low-leveled members talk to one another? Wouldn’t people figure out pretty quickly that not everyone is what Agony claims they are?” Mingi asked.

“If there’s one thing the leaders of Agony have mastered, it’s scare tactics. They’ve created an environment where everyone is afraid of everyone else because they think they’re alone in their struggles,” Seonghwa explained. “Even I fell victim to their manipulation many times, but once you give people something to rally behind, things start to change.”

“So how does this help us?”

“Agony has been having quite the problem with defectors after your latest broadcast,” Seonghwa said. “Almost half their numbers have dropped and they’re still declining. Agents are starting to realize that they aren’t powerless. If we take down the Governor and my brother, the organization will crumble completely.”

“I like the sound of that,” Hongjoong said with a smile. “So if we were to infiltrate their corporate building, we’d only run into a handful of agents who were actually willing to go against us?”

“Exactly,” Seonghwa agreed. “As I said, I have contacts within the police department. If we can guarantee them safe entry, they’ll be willing to file the proper reports.”

“So… I guess that means we have to capture the Agony building, then,” Wooyoung said. “Do we have any other options?”

“Unfortunately not, we need to make sure that we prove, without a doubt, that the Governor is Agony’s leader and my family is directly tied to the organization.”

“Alright,” Hongjoong decided. “If we don’t have a choice then we should get planning. Any objections?”

“This is absolutely insane,” Wooyoung sighed. Yeosang had to agree, but they didn’t have any other choices. “But let’s do this.”

No one else objected, either.

“Settle in everyone,” Yeosang laughed, grabbing his computer chair to take a seat. “This is going to take some time.”

~Mingi~

Mingi took a deep breath; the cold, rainy air burning his nostrils all the way in. With a stuttering breath back out, he checked to make sure his gun was loaded and ready for action. Another breath to steady his shaking hands and he pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against. A quick glance left told him that Yunho was close behind him and to the right, Jongho and Yeosang. So far so good.

The plan that they had hashed out days prior was a sensitive one. There were a lot of moving parts, various tasks every member had to keep track of or else everything they had worked for would fall apart. They needed to take the building and Seonghwa said the easiest way to secure their victory would be to push through to the building’s control room. Thanks to Yeosang’s hacking prowess, the team had access to the building’s floor plans. Mingi had spent all last night memorizing as much as he could of the floors he would be traveling through. He wasn’t sure how accurately he’d actually remember it all, but he had Yunho with him; he’d certainly know exactly where he was going at all times. Yunho had always been better at quick memorization than he had.

The control room was on the third basement floor starting from the top and was where most of their communications were broadcasted. If they managed to get to that room, Yeosang could hack in and send word to the entire enemy organization that ATEEZ had taken over. Seonghwa seemed fairly confident that if they were to succeed, all lower-leveled agents would surrender completely and any remaining higher-leveled agents who weren’t apprehended in the fight today would go into hiding. All of this sounded promising, the only issue would be whether or not they could successfully pull it off. The team had never attempted something like this before; for the first time ever, every single member of the team would be on sight. He hoped they could pull it off; otherwise, the repercussions could be deadly.

The plan sounded simple enough on paper. Two groups of two and a larger group of four would all enter the building from different doors. Mingi had been against the idea of splitting up but they didn’t have much of a choice with so few numbers.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa, obvious candidates for one of the two-manned teams, would be entering via the front doors. Their jobs would be to secure the lobby and make sure that no one could get in or out of the building once the plan was a go. Agony wasn’t the sole occupant of the towering office building—other companies rented out other floors within the complex completely oblivious to or blissfully ignorant of the shady dealings happening under their feet. Regardless, most of the people above ground were completely innocent. So Hongjoong and Seonghwa’s goal was to getting everyone unaffiliated with the megacorporation out of the building. Once they accomplished that, they’d join the rest of the team underground.

San and Wooyoung—another obvious duo, San wasn’t going to leave Wooyoung’s side during something as dangerous as this—would slip in through a fire exit door as Seonghwa and Hongjoong evacuated the building. Once inside, they would use an access stairwell to go to the very last floor of the basement complex. Their goal would be to first sweep the bottom floor of any openly hostile enemies. If at all possible, they’ll try to recruit anyone that would be willing to fight with them as well as free any prisoners from the holding cells. From there, they would work their way up to the control room, clearing out each floor as they go. Hopefully, they could snag a few people to help them take on however many agents there were who would fight against them.

So that left Mingi, Yunho, Jongho, and Yeosang, the group that would be acting as basically the organization’s vanguard. Their job would be to head directly to the third basement level and engage with whatever agents crawling around there. First, however, they were to wait for the other two groups to move in. Seonghwa and Hongjoong would be moving in first, pulling the fire alarms and making sure innocent bystanders evacuated. When the stream of people started to die down, Wooyoung and San would move in as Hongjoong and Seonghwa locked all exits and barricaded the glass entryway. Once complete, the two of them would begin to sweep floors as well, starting with the first and working their way down. That’s when Hongjoong would give Mingi’s group the signal to move in. Seonghwa had said that the control floor would have the most agents ready to fight and defend their organization. Their group’s orders were to shoot on sight any agents they ran into, to move slowly and take no unnecessary risks; basically to distract all high-level agents long enough for the entire team to converge together once more. From there, the eight of them would make their way slowly through to the center room, picking off whatever agents they found along the way.

The plan was simple but one wrong move and it would come crumbling down right before their eyes. Everything was time-sensitive, every step depended on the success of the one before it. They’d discussed all their options two days prior for hours. There weren’t a lot of choices open to them with so few resources and on a limited time schedule, so the plan was a go. They would win this; they _had_ to, or else, here today, they would die trying.

He took another deep breath, calming his anxiety as much as he could manage as the door they would use to enter the building was in his sights. They slowed their pace, approaching carefully and guns ready in case they met any resistance. As expected, the small alleyway exit was unguarded; there wasn’t a soul in sight. The four of them quickly took up a defensive position around the door. All that was left was to wait for their signal.

“Vanguard in place, waiting on your signal,” Yunho radioed to the team, his voice echoing a half a second delayed in Mingi’s ear.

“Copy that,” Hongjoong’s voice responded. “Fireteam alpha is in place and ready to go as well.”

“Yeah, San and I are good to go, too,” Wooyoung’s loud voice cut in, completely disregarding the use of their designated group codenames. He’d probably forgotten what his was or hadn’t even bothered to learn it in the first place. Mingi would bet money on the second one.

“Don’t know why we even bother sometimes,” Yeosang laughed dismissively. It was strange to have him out on the field. If Mingi was nervous about this mission, he couldn’t even imagine what Yeosang must’ve been feeling with little to no combat experience. They needed all hands on deck for this to work, however, and Yeosang insisted he’d be able to handle it.

“I’m not going to sit behind my computer screens while you all risk your lives. I can’t lose you,” he’d told them all; though, he’d been looking at Jongho as he’d said it. The team hadn’t argued after that, knowing full well there would be no swaying him on this matter.

“Alright, Seonghwa and I are heading in,” Hongjoong announced. “Be careful out there.”

“You too, captain,” Mingi added.

“Nah we got this, easy clap,” Wooyoung laughed, bringing a smile to their faces. His blind, unwavering confidence brought them comfort; some things would never change. For the next ten minutes, everything was quiet. There was no movement save for the occasional shift in stance. The commlinks were silent. The anticipation grew, bubbling up from Mingi’s stomach and making his hands shake as he gripped his gun tighter and tighter.

Yunho reached over, grabbing his hands to steady them with one of his own, a look on his face that Mingi knew translated to: “It’s going to be alright”. A nervous smile tugged at Mingi’s lips at the gesture; he nodded in thanks back at him.

Then, they heard it.

The sound was dulled, barely resonating through the thick outer walls of the building but unmistakable nonetheless. A fire alarm, screeching throughout the entire building in warning, but it wouldn’t be a fire it saved everyone’s life from today.

“Fire alarm set, getting ready to lock all exits from building’s security office,” Hongjoong announced, the alarm sound coming through along with his voice. He didn’t sound panicked, everything was still going according to plan so far. Step one, completed.

“Wooyoung, San, give the occupants fifteen minutes before entering unless you notice their numbers lessening ahead of schedule.”

“On it, boss,” San’s voice responded. “We have sights on people leaving now.”

“Vanguard ready to move on my signal. Seonghwa’s directing people away from the main exit now,” Hongjoong continued.

“Yes sir,” Yunho answered as their group’s designated leader.

Mingi hated this part of the job; sitting and waiting in radio silence was always the hardest. There wasn’t anything he could do but stew in all his spiraling thoughts. At least, when the action began, Mingi’s mind would be occupied with more important things; he wouldn’t have time to feel scared.

Fifteen minutes went by agonizingly slow. He felt every second of each minute, trying to focus on deep breaths in and out, trying to not let his fear show on his face. It felt like his entire body was shaking, humming with his anxiety that only grew as the seconds stretched into years. He hoped it wasn’t apparent that he felt he might crumble under the weight of his emotions at any moment.

“Alright, only a few stragglers left, we’re heading in,” Wooyoung’s voice broke the eternity of silence. All four of them jumped slightly at the sudden noise; they were all on edge.

“The front doors have been blocked off,” Seonghwa’s voice responded next. “Going to regroup with Hongjoong.”

“I’m locking the building down in five minutes exactly. Vanguard, you’ll have a few seconds to get in through your door once I give you the signal before the command goes through,” Hongjoong announced.

“Ready when you are,” Yunho agreed.

Another minute ticked by.

“We’re in the building, heading down to the bottom floor,” San spoke again. So far, so good. They could do this. They could pull this off. One step of the plan at a time.

Silence fell over them again. The energy coursing through Mingi’s body reached a new peak as they waited through the last stretch of silence before it was their turn to move in. He could see the effects of the tense silence beginning to show through on his teammates, too. Jongho was shifting his weight from foot to foot every few seconds, his eyes scanning the nearby environment with excruciating detail. Yeosang’s hands were shaking even worse than Mingi’s own, seemingly spaced out deep in thought as he stared at the ground. Yunho was tapping his foot, a nervous habit Mingi recognized from their countless espionage missions as he drummed his fingers against his gun to the beat of whatever song he had latched onto in his head. He too was extremely focused on scanning their surroundings.

“We’re on the last floor,” Wooyoung updated them. “Waiting on your signal.”

“Thirty seconds,” Hongjoong responded.

Mingi watched Yunho take a deep breath, steeling himself as he reached out to hover over the door handle. Jongho nudged Yeosang, snapping him out of his daze before the both of them got ready to move.

“Now,” Hongjoong told them. Yunho pulled open the door in an instant before stepping aside to hold it open for his other three teammates. Mingi ran through first, checking up and down the stairs for anyone potentially dangerous. It was empty.

He signaled for Jongho and Yeosang to enter, followed closely behind by Yunho, who carefully closed the door behind them, so it didn’t make a noise.

The staircase they stood in now was dark, the fire alarms flashing and shrieking all around them. Keeping a close eye on their surroundings, they made sure they were alone before going on the move.

“We’re in,” Yunho radioed in. “Moving to basement level three now.”

“Beginning the sweep of the containment cells,” San added in.

“Seonghwa and I are heading down to level one,” Hongjoong finished. “See you at the end, boys.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished it!! I was super excited about this chapter and hopefully, it made up for the cliffhanger in the last one! I have the rest of the story planned out for certain now, as you can see we're going to have ten chapters in total, so the next few installments are going to be quite action-packed. There are a couple of other obligations that I have to write for before the next chapter comes out but hopefully, it won't take me too terribly long. Look out for me! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and sticking with this story so far. I know it's kinda long xD 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter! @AAvery151  
> Follow my beta on Twitter! @TrashKing52


	8. Chapter 8

~Mingi~

The team of four quickly made their way down flights of stairs, silently counting off each floor they passed. Each of them were being extremely cautious, making a conscious effort to make as little noise as possible. The third basement level was six staircases down and they made quick work of each of them, checking up and down for any hostiles and listening for anything that could mean their location was compromised. The fire alarm had ceased its screeching as they reached the second level; someone in Agony must’ve disabled it. They had to move fast and hit hard. If agents inside the building were aware that something out of the ordinary was happening, ATEEZ couldn’t let them mobilize and call in whatever reinforcements they still had left. The element of surprise was all they had going for them; they were outmatched in every other category. Time was of the essence and it certainly wasn’t on their side.

When they reached the third-floor landing, they paused briefly. Yunho made a hand gesture, pointing two fingers to each side of the door. The remaining three quickly got into position given his silent orders, bracing themselves against the wall out of the door’s line of sight. They were expecting some resistance. Seonghwa had told them that in the event of a break-in, Agony would mobilize to protect the third level first and foremost. And if Agony had the time to turn the fire alarm off, they certainly had the time to notice that there wasn’t actually a fire anywhere in the building. Even if they hadn’t, in a situation like this, it was _always_ better to play it safe.

“Don’t forget to activate the smokescreen,” Yunho reminded them, hand poised to open the door the second they were ready. The group nodded in understanding, each of them activating the brand-new toy Yeosang had equipped the entire team with. Mingi fiddled with his sleeve, revealing the remote strapped around his wrist. It had been an ordeal and a half getting these computer-integrated contacts in everyone’s eyes—especially for Mingi, seeing as he was rather squeamish when it came to these kinds of things—but Seonghwa had advocated for their paramount usefulness on missions and Yeosang had been excited to finally have some in his possession, even if he, himself, had no use for them anymore.

When he pressed the correct buttons—Yeosang had to show him how to do it at least five times yesterday—Mingi saw a transmat effect scan his surroundings before an “initializing complete” message flashed across his vision. He wondered briefly what all these things could do but this wasn’t the time nor place for that. There would be plenty of time to play around with the contacts when Agony was gone for good.

He looked back to Yunho once it was complete, signaling that he was ready to go. Yunho nodded in understanding, giving them all a three-second countdown.

“Three.”

Mingi took a deep breath.

“Two.”

He steadied his hands.

“One.”

Yunho threw open the door, quickly getting out of the way in the same movement. As they’d been expecting, agents were prepared on the other side of the door and the second it was open wide enough, gunfire was pouring in from at least five assault rifles if Mingi’s math was correct. Nothing they couldn’t handle; at least, not yet. They waited a few seconds, letting the gunfire continue to ring out through the staircase while they braced themselves safely to the side. Then, Jongho and Yeosang stepped up during a lull in the fire. Two smoke grenades were thrown through the door, instantly emitting a thick, noxious gas into the hallway. Their facemasks would protect them from the poisonous fumes with their built-in filters, but their enemy wouldn’t be so fortunate. It wouldn’t kill them, but it would definitely incapacitate them long enough for ATEEZ to take over.

Dark grey smoke filled the hallway and slowly, the gunfire ceased. As soon as they were sure all the agents guarding the door were out cold, they wasted no time moving on to the next part of the plan. Yunho gave them the signal and in instant, all four of them were through the door and into the hallway, guns brandished and ready to take out anyone that had managed to survive the smoke. Mingi’s vision was clouded, the smoke bombs obscuring most of the way through, but that’s where the contacts came in handy. What Mingi couldn’t make out through the gas, was helpfully outlined by his new lenses with red lines, easily showing him where everything was right down to the unconscious bodies lying on the floor. All five were unconscious. Everything was going to plan.

Before moving forward, Mingi shouldered one of the assault rifles that had been used against him moments before. These agents certainly weren’t going to need it anymore. Though they were loaded with lethal bullets, the extra weaponry could still come in handy in a tight situation. Better safe than sorry. Jongho followed his lead before they were moving down the hallway once more.

They didn’t linger long after that. There were cameras everywhere. Agony would know where they were at all times but if they could infiltrate fast, that wouldn’t matter.

They traversed through three turns without meeting any opposition. If that unnerved anyone else besides Mingi, they didn’t say anything and neither did Mingi for fear of jinxing them all.

“Bottom floor clear, moving up to the fifth level,” San’s voice cut through the radio silence.

“Seonghwa and I are on the second level,” Hongjoong spoke up next. “There was no one on the first level.”

Mingi really didn’t like the sound of that. Everything was happening a little too easily. Of course, he wanted everything to go well, but this…. This was _way_ too well. Seonghwa had made it sound like the third level was going to be _swarming_ with agents and that their job was going to be distracting them long enough for the whole team to fight as one. Despite that information, they’d only ran into five agents which hadn’t even put up much of a fight… None of this made any sense. Something strange was happening. A bad feeling settled in Mingi’s stomach.

He didn’t let himself linger on those thoughts for long. Maybe they _had_ caught Agony off guard, maybe there were so few agents left to defend all but the main room. He wanted to stay optimistic, but he couldn’t stop the sinking feeling that something big was lying in wait for them as they made quick work of sweeping through the third level.

“Yunho,” Mingi called before they turned the next corner. Mingi remembered from his late-night memorization session that around the last corner and in the middle of the next hallway was the room they were looking for. The group slowed to a halt before going any further, looking to Mingi. “Something’s off.”

Maybe Yeosang and Jongho wouldn’t understand this gut feeling Mingi had but Yunho had been his partner in crime for years now. They’d been on countless infiltration missions together; if anyone would understand this intuition it was Yunho.

“I know,” Yunho agreed. Mingi didn’t like that look he had in his eye. He knew that look.

“We should wait for the others to catch up,” Mingi tried regardless.

“There’s no time,” Yunho countered; Mingi knew he was going to say that. “If they’re planning something, it’s our job to stop them before they can pull it off.”

“So what? We’re just gonna run in there? That’s a death wish, and you know it. We don’t need to be a suicide squad,” Mingi countered. He looked away from Yunho; he couldn’t stand that look he had in his eyes, not under these circumstances. He saw Yeosang shift uncomfortably at his words. Jongho grabbed his hand to comfort him, leaning in close to whisper something in his ear. Yeosang nodded in understanding.

“We don’t have to take them all down,” Yunho reminded them. “Just stall long enough for the rest of the team to catch up.”

Yunho stepped closer to him, tilting his chin up so he was forced to look away from the ground he had been focused on.

“No matter what happens,” he started quietly, that stubborn determination shining in his eyes in such a familiar way. “We’ll be okay.”

Mingi only nodded in response to Yunho’s words. He knew he was only trying to comfort him, but it just wasn’t going to work. Not when their lives were on the line.

They braced themselves against the wall, getting ready to turn the corner and purposefully walk into whatever trap was waiting for them. If there were Agony agents lying in wait, after all, this is where they would be. They didn’t have to push through; they didn’t have to take the room. They only had to hold the agents off, take out as many as they could till the other four could catch up. He repeated his mission over and over again in his head, waiting for Yunho’s signal to move forward once more. He wanted to believe Yunho. No matter what happened, they’d be—

Gunshots echoed through the hallway and instantly the four of them scattered, looking every which way for the source of the fire. To his surprise, six agents were coming down the hallway from the way they had just cleared.

They recovered from their surprise quickly, returning fire to the approaching enemies. It’d been a while since Mingi had fired at live targets, but the muscle memory came back to him quickly. Aim down the sights. Pull the trigger. One agent spasmed and fell to the ground. Mingi kept moving backward and in a zigzag to make himself harder to hit until he could find cover to hide behind. He saw another agent fall down the hallway, blue electricity dancing around his body, saw Yunho reload his gun next to him before firing off more shots. The attacking agents took up the defensive when they realized they were taking a lot of hits back, hiding behind support pillars in the middle of the long hallway.

Bullets, lethal and non-lethal were flying everywhere. Mingi was almost shocked no one had gotten hit by anything yet, but he didn’t have the time to think of the implications behind such a fact. His team was running out of space to move backward away from the attacking agents before they stepped into the next hallway. The intersection between this side hallway and the main one that held the control room was getting closer by the second. They didn’t have a choice; there was only one way for them to go and they absolutely needed cover if they were going to engage the agents attacking them. Standing out in the open like they were was just asking to get shot.

Perhaps if Mingi had just thought about their options a second longer, he would’ve found a better solution. But at that moment, the panic of being shot at had overtaken his thoughts. He should’ve seen what the agents were planning, why none of their bullets had hit them despite a clear, straight shot, should’ve seen the trap that had very clearly been set for them. But he hadn’t. And they paid dearly for it.

With no other options, they stepped out into the next hallway, firing back at the opposing agents mainly as cover fire until they could find a lull to make a run for it.

A few steps backward. That’s all it took. A few steps backward and everything that Mingi should’ve seen from the start was clear to him. It was only out of the corner of his eye at first, a wall of black amidst the white of the hallways. Mingi’s heart dropped into his feet. _Shit._

“Watch out!” He cried just as he heard the twenty or so Agony agents waiting for them around the corner open absolute hellfire upon them. He tackled the nearest ally, forcing them both back around the corner and away from what was certainly instant death otherwise. He quickly got back up, helping Yeosang onto his feet as he went. But he hadn’t reacted nearly fast enough to save every member of their team.

“Yunho!” He screamed in his panic, whipping back around to see the man barely even step out into the open. But even that small step was enough to see him collapsing to the ground in a heap of limbs.

Mingi’s brain went into overdrive. Flight or fight had been activated and Mingi always chose to fight when the people he cared about were in danger. They _weren’t_ going to die here. Under no circumstances was he ever going to allow that. He vaguely registered Hongjoong and San updating them on their status in his ear but that was the least of his worries right now. Right now, he needed to get everyone to safety and find a new plan. As much as he wanted to scream and cry for Yunho to be okay, they would all meet an even worse fate if they didn’t react fast.

“Jongho, we need cover fire down the main hallway,” he ordered. Jongho was on the move in an instant. He took the assault rifle he had picked up from an agent earlier off his shoulder before stepping around the corner and returning fire at the agents just standing there. Hopefully, that scattered them long enough for their team to act.

“Yeosang, cover on this side.” Yeosang nodded, following his orders as well. Then, Mingi was on the move. He sprinted back down the way they had come, to the first door he came across. Running on pure adrenaline, he kicked at the handle. Two forceful kicks, the handle was broken, and the door creaked open.

“Yeosang, fire from inside here,” he barked another order, trading spots with the man as he raced back down the hallway towards Jongho and Yunho.

“Follow me back,” he told Jongho through their team channel. The man gave no indication that he’d heard the order but Mingi knew Jongho would listen. As fast as his adrenaline and anxiety-fueled limbs would allow him, Mingi raced into the fray. Resisting the urge to check Yunho’s injuries, he grabbed him under the shoulders and pulled He knew the action hurt but they didn’t have time to move him carefully. Mingi pointedly ignored the trail of blood they left behind; he couldn’t think about those things right now.

As they moved back to the door, Jongho followed them just as was ordered, running out in front to cover them from the other direction now too. Then they were in the room Mingi had broken into, a small conference room, if Mingi had to guess, was its purpose. Yeosang threw the door closed after them.

As carefully as he could manage, he propped Yunho against the back wall, away from the door as much as possible, assessing the injuries he had taken.

“Shit,” he swore, noticing two very glaring bullet wounds: one on his shoulder and another on his upper thigh. There was so much blood; even though his clothes were colored black, Mingi could still see how soaked they actually were with red. Yunho’s expression was contorted into a look of pain, his hair dripping in sweat, and his face pale. Mingi’s hands were shaking, the anxiety and absolute terror catching back up to him now that he was right in front of his very wounded boyfriend. He took Yunho’s mask off first as Yunho opened his eyes to look at the rest of them.

“You guys have to get out of here,” he bit out. “I can’t walk.”

“No,” Mingi quickly countered. “I’m not leaving you, not like this.”

Yunho held up his good arm, making his best attempt to push Mingi away from him; it was too weak to accomplish much of anything.

“If we both die, who’s going to take care of Gunho?” Yunho asked. He tried to sound playful, but it came off as remorseful more than anything else.

Before Mingi could respond with another counterargument, he was getting pulled away from Yunho much to his dismay. Yeosang quickly took his place once he was out of the way, his hands moving fast and skillfully.

“No one’s fucking dying today so you can stop with your gross-ass romantic banter,” Yeosang snapped. He took his jacket off, balling it up and shoving it under Yunho’s leg to elevate the injury. His belt was pulled off next.

“Tell me when it hurts,” Yeosang said, looping the belt around Yunho’s leg above the wound. He pulled it tight until Yunho winced slightly and that’s where he tied it off. “Jongho, give me your bandana.”

Jongho untied the red fabric from his arm, handing it over to Yeosang who snatched it up quickly. He pressed the bandana against Yunho’s shoulder, applying pressure to try and stop the bleeding.

“You two need to get back out there before they storm this place,” Yeosang told Jongho and Mingi, looking over his shoulder to address them.

“I’m not leaving him,” Mingi cried. Yeosang only rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed.

“He’ll be fine if we can get him out of here fast enough, but we can’t exactly do that if we’re dead.”

“But—”

“Go!”

Mingi wanted to protest more, but before he formed a coherent thought, Yunho called out to him.

“Mingi, I promised, didn’t I?” He started, a pain-filled smile coming to his lips. “No matter what happens, we’ll be okay.”

Mingi felt a sob build up in his throat seeing that stubborn determination glowing in his expression once more, but he held it back. Crying wouldn’t make this situation any better.

“Alright,” he agreed finally, taking one last look at his lover before turning to face the door. He reloaded his gun before radioing to the rest of the team.

“Yunho’s down, Yeosang is staying behind with him. How far are the rest of you?”

“The second level, about to move down,” Seonghwa answered first.

“We’re on the fourth, heading your way with a few reinforcements,” Wooyoung said next.

He took a deep breath. Alright. They could still do this.

“You ready?” He asked Jongho. The younger looked back at Yeosang but the elder was busy talking to Yunho to keep him awake, completely focused on the task at hand. He turned back to Mingi with an unreadable expression on his face; his emotions very carefully guarded. Mingi wondered if he didn’t want to leave the two of them behind either.

“Let’s do this.”

Mingi undid the remaining smoke grenades he had attached to his belt, equipment he’d forgotten about in their initial panic. He had four. They could do this. _They could do this._

“First, we take out the ones down this hallway assuming they haven’t moved, then the other. Hopefully, the others are here by then.”

Jongho nodded in understanding, reloading the magazine on his new weapon with non-lethal rounds they had brought with them.

One final deep breath, Mingi pulled open the door and stepped into the hallway.  

~Yeosang~

The door clicked shut as Mingi and Jongho left the room. Almost instantly, the muffled sound of gunfire once again filled the silence. Yeosang felt an ever-growing twinge of anxiety settle in his stomach as he worried for the safety of the rest of his team, for the safety of Jongho. Jongho… who had been so willing to put Yeosang’s life before his own, who had noticed his nerves and knew exactly how to comfort him. How was he ever going to return the kindness Jongho had shown him? For now, all he could do was hope and pray he’d make it out of this alive. As much as Yeosang wanted to stay by his side, he knew, in the end, that his presence out there wouldn’t make a difference. Yunho needed him much more than their trained weapons specialist and seasoned bounty hunter ever would.

“Thanks for that,” Yunho spoke up now that they were alone. With Mingi gone, the brave front he had been putting on was long gone. It wasn’t very good in the first place—his pain probably immeasurable at the moment—but it was even worse now. His voice was barely above a whisper, coming through clenched teeth and full of the pain he was trying to keep under wraps. He looked scared; though, Yeosang couldn’t blame him. It didn’t look good. For all their careful planning, walking right into the middle of Agony’s trap had proven much more detrimental than they had thought.

“For what?” Yeosang asked, transferring the bandana he held against Yunho’s shoulder to one hand as he dug through his pants pocket. He fished out his Swiss army knife and a lighter. He’d almost thought against bringing such tools with him, thinking he wouldn’t have a need for them. Thankfully, he’d stuffed them in his pocket anyway before running to catch up with the others, a scenario exactly like this playing in his head being the motivating factor.

“For lying to him,” Yunho answered. “He never would’ve left had you said I wasn’t going to die.”

“But you’re _not_ going to die,” Yeosang shot back, not even bothering to hold back an eye roll. He did hold back the urge to hit Yunho for saying something so utterly ridiculous, however. He had enough pain to deal with already.

Yeosang cut off a sleeve of his red undershirt at the shoulder, needing more material to work with and having no other layers to shed. He twisted the red cloth up, putting it to Yunho’s mouth.

“Now stop being so dramatic and bite down on this. This is going to hurt a lot…”

With two open wounds, Yunho was losing way too much blood. If it kept going on like it was, he wouldn’t last long enough for the team to get him to a hospital. The makeshift tourniquet Yeosang had created out of his belt could only stop the flow to Yunho’s leg so much without it being detrimental to the limb. One of the wounds had to be closed and fast. He patted Yunho’s face, forcing him to open back up his drooping eyes. If Yeosang allowed him to nod off there was a large chance he would never wake back up and he wasn’t letting anyone die on his watch. He had to act fast. If Yunho went into shock, that’d be the end of it with these injuries.

He grabbed Yunho’s good arm, putting it up to the bandana against his shoulder.

“I just need you to hold this for a moment,” he instructed.

“Okay,” Yunho agreed quietly around the fabric in his mouth, trying his hardest to keep his eyes open.

Then Yeosang got to work. He flipped open his lighter, sparking it to life as quickly as his trembling fingers would allow. His eyes helped guide him for this part. He needed to seal the wound, but too hot and he’d burn the surrounding skin and do more harm than good. He kept a close eye on the growing temperature as he ran the flame back and forth across the blade. When it got just hot enough, Yeosang closed the lighter, moving quickly so the metal wouldn’t cool too much.

“I’m sorry,” Yeosang told Yunho. If the man understood what was about to happen, he gave no indication as Yeosang moved the bandana and the layers of clothes out of the way. Yeosang pressed the searing blade to the punctured skin, holding it there for only a few seconds despite how Yunho squirmed. He cried out in pain, barely keeping from outright screaming, biting down hard on the cloth between his teeth. Yeosang grimaced, hating that he had to put his friend through such agony, but they really didn’t have any choice. He repeated the process a few more times until the blood was no longer flowing from Yunho’s shoulder. It wasn’t the most sterile procedure he had ever done but as long as Yunho didn’t move too sharply until they could get to a real medical professional, he wasn’t at risk of bleeding out on the floor of this conference room for a little longer. They still didn’t have a lot of time. He hoped they could finish this quickly for all their sake’s.

When he was finished, he righted Yunho’s clothes back over his shoulder and pulled the cloth out of his mouth. There wasn’t an exit wound, so they didn’t have to worry about that right now. He turned his full attention to Yunho’s leg, definitely the more serious of the two injuries. A major artery hadn’t been hit as far as he could tell, and the tourniquet was stemming the flow enough. For good measure, he covered the wound with the cloth he had taken from Yunho’s mouth and applied pressure.

“See? You’re going to be just fine,” Yeosang assured, tapping Yunho’s cheek to keep him from falling asleep again. Yunho was trying his hardest to push through, his breathing labored, his skin covered in sweat.

“It’s nice… to have a doctor… on the scene,” Yunho joked with his best attempt at a laugh despite how his voice barely came out louder than a whisper. This was a good sign, Yeosang decided, trying to spin things positively. Even after being shot up, Yunho was still trying to get in a joke. There was blood everywhere, covering Yeosang’s hands and his clothes, in a small pool beneath Yunho’s leg, but it could’ve been so much worse had the bullets hit just a bit more to the right. It was good all those agents had a terrible aim. Remembering what Seonghwa had said about most agents being just regular people forced to masquerade as lethal killers, their poor aim made a lot more sense.

“Do I… get a lollipop, doc?” Yunho laughed despite his drooping eyes.

“Stay awake and you can have as many as you want when we get out of here.”

“Yay,” Yunho cheered as enthusiastically as he could muster.

“Just keep talking,” Yeosang instructed, a beeping sound suddenly ringing in his ear. “Tell me about how you and Mingi met.”

As Yunho began to recount the story to the best of his abilities, slowly and with a strained voice, Yeosang answered the incoming call he was getting in his ear.

“Yeosang,” he answered, gesturing for Yunho to keep talking despite the conversation that was about to take place over their commlink.

“Where are you and Yunho?” Hongjoong’s voice asked immediately as soon as Yeosang had responded.

“Third hallway, all the way down on the right,” Yeosang relayed.

“And Yunho’s condition?”

“He’s stable for now, but the faster we can get him out of here, the better.”

“Alright,” Hongjoong agreed. “Wooyoung’s going to take your place. We’ll need you in the control room.”

“Understood.”

“Mingi, Jongho, we’re heading your way now. Hang in there.”

There was no response from Mingi or Jongho but Yeosang didn’t let himself take that as a bad sign just yet. He had faith in Jongho and Mingi’s abilities.

As soon as Hongjoong had finished giving his orders, the door to the conference room they occupied flew open. Wooyoung immediately rushed over to them, looking a little worse for the wear as well. There was a long, jagged cut on his arm, his sleeve torn apart, and a bruise was forming between his eyes, which would certainly turn into double black eyes in a few hours. Reading the worried expression off Yeosang’s face, Wooyoung quickly assured:

“I’m fine. You should see the other guy. No really. San almost fucking killed him when he saw what happened to me.” He laughed at the memory, but then quickly turned serious once more: “What do I need to do?”

Wooyoung was already starting to take over the position Yeosang was in as he began to explain:

“You need to keep pressure on his leg and keep him talking. _Do not_ let him fall asleep.”

“Okay, okay, I got it. Get out of here, they’re gonna need you.”

Yeosang stood up, reluctant to leave Yunho in the shape he was in, but he wasn’t going to get any better with Yeosang staying here. He knew Wooyoung would look after him in his stead. For all his quirks, Wooyoung knew when it was time to be serious and Yeosang had complete faith in his ability to keep Yunho alive for a little longer.

He left the room in a sprint, turning down the hall and making his way as fast as he could to help his team. The sound of gunfire grew louder as he approached the control room. Mingi and Jongho had managed to take out quite a few agents on their way from the looks of it. Yeosang passed countless incapacitated agents, careful not to step on any limbs as he ran to his destination. He didn’t see any allies amongst the fallen and that gave him all the more motivation to get to his friends and keep it that way.

As he avoided stepping on the arm of an Agony agent, the sound of gunfire up ahead abruptly cut off. He didn’t like the sound of that. He picked up his pace. Turning around one final corner, he sprinted through the shattered remains of the glass doors to the control room, glass crunching under his boots.

The sight he was met with was not at all what he had been expecting to find upon catching up with his allies.

The room was in shambles; it was clear a fight had gone down moments before. A large table that had probably sat in the middle of the room before was now turned on its side to act as a barricade. Chairs were tossed everywhere, seemingly thrown around at random as the situation had demanded. There were puncture holes all over the large room, covering both the wall closest to Yeosang, and shattered across the multitude of computer screens filling the other. And if the state of the room didn’t cue Yeosang into the struggle that had taken place moments before, the number of unconscious Agony agents littering the ground certainly would. But, none of that was what had confused Yeosang upon first glance. He was shocked to find that it looked like the rest of the struggle had already been taken care of. Had they succeeded in their mission? Was this the end already?

The team stood around the room, all five of them looking their own version of disheveled. Mingi was holding his arm, blood seeping through his fingers. San’s knuckles were completely broken open; Yeosang wouldn’t be surprised if a few of them were broken. Seonghwa had a large gash on his cheek, his mask and hat nowhere to be seen. Hongjoong, too, had lost his hat in the struggle and it looked like he was favoring his left leg as he quickly moved about the room to make sure every last agent had been taken care of. Jongho, much to Yeosang’s relief, looked relatively unscathed, standing on guard with the weapon he had taken from Agony poised to attack whatever looked even remotely threatening.

Among their ranks were a few friendly Agony agents as well, just as Wooyoung and San had promised. There were six in total, all of them having discarded their masks to better distinguish them from the other less friendly agents. Yeosang recognized San’s mother as one of the few who had decided to come with them. He hadn’t known she would be working today; though, he had never made it a point to learn San’s mother’s work schedule anyway by San’s request to keep his familial situation a secret from the rest of the team. She had been a practiced surgeon, now reduced to nothing more than a truth serum administrator by the disgusting blackmail system Agony ran. If she recognized her own son or his friends among their ranks, she gave no indication, instead, making sure no one was in danger of dying among the fallen.

Yeosang approached the woman slowly, catching her attention by clearing his throat. He saw recognition flash in her vision, but she said nothing.

“One of our members was shot,” he explained quietly. “In a room, down the hallway to the right, first left. Could you help him?”

She nodded, asking no questions as she immediately rushed from the room to hopefully stabilize Yunho more than Yeosang ever could hope of achieving. From what he could tell, the worst of their struggle was over. Did Agony really have so few agents? There were maybe a total of thirty that had come to oppose them on this level; all of them wearing dog masks and clearly not at all trained in the art of protecting their base. Where were all their higher-ups? He didn’t think an organization so obsessed with self-preservation would have so little defenses set in place knowing that a rival organization was trying to take them down. There had to be something more. Something they were missing.

Oh, did Yeosang hate being correct.

He knew deep down that something so tantamount to the downfall of Agony wouldn’t be achieved so relatively easily. He had wanted to think, if only for a moment, that they had been successful, that for all their struggling something had finally come easy to them. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Agony had been hoping for.

Almost the second Yeosang made a move to approach Jongho, to celebrate their victory and make sure the man was unharmed, the screens in the back of the room were sparking to life. The large screen in the middle lit up first, flashing between a black screen and static as whoever was trying to remotely control the system worked through their code. The tons of smaller screens surrounding the middle followed soon after with varying degrees of success, the fight before having broken most of the screens to some extent. The silent room fell even quieter, heavy as the team and the allies they had gained watched whatever was about to happen.

Seconds ticked by but eventually, the static gave way to the purple Agony insignia on a black screen.

“Yeosang…” Hongjoong called, a suspicious expression on his face. He looked to Seonghwa but even he seemed to have no idea what was going on. Yeosang didn’t even need to be told what to do; he already knew what was going to be asked of him and had mapped out a solution in his head as he quickly rushed to the nearest computer that hadn’t taken damage from the gunfight.

“On it,” he agreed quickly, grabbing the retractable keychain attached to his pants and unclipping the flash drive he would need. He plugged it into the tower and then immediately got to work, having to wait only a few seconds for his virus to download and take effect.

At almost the same moment, the screens above changed their display once again. Instead of the purple Agony logo, a face was now projected back at them. One that looked eerily familiar, practically the spitting image of the Governor, only years younger.

“Shit,” both Seonghwa and Hongjoong swore. The Agony agents on their side looked just as worried. The rest of the team, who was a step behind the others, had to wait only a few seconds to understand the gravity of the situation at hand.

“We should’ve known,” the man on the screens tsked. “I’m hurt, Hwa. To think my little brother would betray me so terribly… What have I ever done to you?”

His voice was mocking; he knew exactly what had driven Seonghwa to defect and he truly didn’t care either, his only goal was to get under the man’s skin. If it worked, Hongjoong didn’t even give Seonghwa the chance to show it. He stepped forward, a look of anger on his face that shocked the rest of the team.

“You know exactly what you’ve done,” he snapped back. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know how much of a monster you and your father really are.”

“Ah yes, the boyfriend,” the man sighed as if he had expected as much. “You’re lucky you’re pretty. Perhaps I’ll keep you as a plaything when all this blows over. Well… whatever’s left of you, anyway.”

“Yeosang, where is this being broadcast from?” Hongjoong turned to him, ignoring the man’s disgusting insinuations, his anger barely reigned in.

“Working on it,” he responded, his finger flying across the keyboard in front of him and his eyes moving even faster across the screen.

“Oh believe me… Hongjoong was it? Where I am should be the least of your concerns,” Seonghwa’s brother continued to mock through the screens. “Your love and affection for our Seonghwa really is touching. Has he told you everything? Tell me, what’s worse. Being a monster? Or playing along with horrible atrocities for years on end, blending in with monsters, instead of doing something about it? Our Hwa really is a good actor, wouldn’t you agree? Had me fooled for a short while even… Or maybe it’s you, who’s been fooled?”

“Shut up,” Hongjoong snapped again, voice even harsher than before. Even Yeosang was startled by his tone, his fingers faltering across the keys only briefly before he recovered. “I’ll decide what’s important to me right now. You can keep all your vicious words; I’ve already made up my mind about him.”

“Cute,” the man cooed. “But I _really_ think you’re going to want to hear all your options before you decide how to spend your last moments alive.”

Yeosang _really_ didn’t like the sound of that.

“You can have your technician try to find my location, but personally I would be much more worried about this little toy,” the man continued. As he finished his sentence, he showed off a small black device in his right hand. Upon closer inspection, Yeosang noticed a large, red button sticking out of the top.

The room went silent.

That couldn’t be…

Agony wouldn’t do that to their own building…

But then the man pressed the button and all of Yeosang’s worst fears were confirmed. A timer flashed onto the screen. Fifteen minutes.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

Everyone in the room froze, holding their breath, hoping that their eyes were deceiving them or that the timer wasn’t what they thought it was. Yeosang didn’t stop his movements, if anything this development caused him to move even faster.

“That’s not what I think it is, is it?” San asked voice laced with worry. The timer began ticking down.

“Yeosang, how long until you find his location?” Hongjoong asked, his voice urgent as he snapped out of his own surprise, rushing over to Yeosang to observe the process.

“Uhh… I don’t know,” Yeosang answered honestly. He hadn’t started the search yet, still telling the computer what to do in the form of lines of code. It all depended on how far away the stream was physically and how many levels of encryption had been placed on it. “I’m working as fast as I can.”

“Decisions, decisions,” Seonghwa’s brother continued to mock. “If you evacuate the building now you might even be able to get your poor injured friend out safe and sound before the building explodes.”

But then he clicked his tongue and sighed deeply, pretending as if a new thought had just come to him.

“Oh, but then all your evidence will be buried under this building and the Park family will walk free… Oh, what to do?” He had the widest smile on his face, looking as if he had just won a grand prize. “It was a pleasure getting to meet you all before your death. Seonghwa, I’ll miss you dearly, but you know _very_ well what happens to people who betray the family. I look forward to seeing your decision.”

He waved to the camera before the screen went black, his face replaced with the large, white numbers of the countdown timer.

Fourteen minutes.

“Please tell me you have something,” Hongjoong asked leaning over Yeosang’s shoulder. Under normal circumstances, Yeosang would’ve found it annoying—Hongjoong wouldn’t understand what he was looking at and it certainly wouldn’t make Yeosang work any faster—but these were far from normal circumstances. Yeosang hit enter the second Hongjoong finished, watching as the computer executed exactly what he had told it to. He didn’t answer Hongjoong’s plea yet, eyes flitting between the screen and the large numbers projected above him.

Thirteen minutes.

“It’s searching. I don’t know how long this could take. Anywhere from ten seconds to—” Yeosang didn’t finish his sentence, utterly shocked into silence when a location was suddenly flashing across his screen.

“Is that it?” Hongjoong asked. “That’s right outside.”

“Yeah,” Yeosang agreed. “It is. Right by the door our group entered from.”

“Alright. Seonghwa, let’s go!” Hongjoong pushed off from Yeosang’s chair, already well on his way out of the room to go in pursuit of the Governor’s eldest son. “The rest of you, find and deactivate that bomb. We don’t have to make a choice between the two.”

“Hongjoong, wait!” Yeosang called after him, standing up to look towards his leader. “It shouldn’t have been that easy. Every other Agony broadcast I’ve tried to find the location of has had layers upon layers of encryption. This one didn’t have any. He _wants_ you to go after him and for us to try and save the building at the same time. We should get Yunho and get out of here.”

“Yeosang, take a look around. There are over twenty Agony agents laying unconscious. There isn’t enough time to discuss this, nor is there enough time to debate what mind games they might be trying to play on us. We have twelve minutes. Seonghwa. Let’s go.”

Yeosang wanted to argue more but they really _didn’t_ have the time for that. Whether or not Yeosang agreed with the decision didn’t matter; Hongjoong was their leader for a reason. He just hoped anger didn’t cloud his judgment.

Yeosang fell back into his chair as Hongjoong and Seonghwa rushed from the room, thoughts racing through his head faster than even he could keep up with. How were they supposed to do this? The building was _huge,_ and the bomb could’ve been set anywhere. They didn’t have enough people nor enough time to sweep the entire building. Hongjoong was right in one aspect. Yes, they had enough time to get out of here but what about the incapacitated agents? Sure, they were their enemies, but they didn’t deserve to die for their actions and even if they did, it wasn’t ATEEZ’s place to decide that. So their only option was to find the bomb. Easier said than done. Even if they could manage to find where it was, no one on the team had bomb defusal knowledge that he knew of. Could they even properly handle the bomb once they found it? Or would they accidentally blow themselves up in the process?

Eleven minutes.

“Hey, snap out of it,” Jongho’s calm voice took Yeosang from his thoughts. When his eyes refocused on his surroundings. Jongho was hovering in front of him, his expression even, his body language relaxed despite the situation. The exact opposite of Yeosang who was so high-strung, he felt like he would snap in half at any moment. “Come on, you heard the captain. Let’s find that bomb and take care of it.”

“How?” Yeosang asked, his voice shaky, sounding as if he were on the verge of tears. He had held back all his anxiety when Yunho got shot, kept it together to make sure the man wouldn’t die, didn’t let it get to him when Jongho and Mingi left to face a hoard of agents on their own, but all that time it had been building and building and now this… he couldn’t handle this anymore. He had maneuvered ATEEZ out of so many corners but the corner they had been pushed into this time was too daunting. He couldn’t do this. They were all going to die here, crushed under thousands of tons of rubble, never to be found. “The building is huge, there’s no possible way we can find it, not with less than eleven minutes.

Yeosang’s eyes flitted between Jongho and the timer as he talked, watching their lives tick by second by second.

Ten minutes.

He swallowed thickly.

“Ignore the time, what would you do? We have the entire building’s control here.”

Yeosang took a deep breath, trying his best to do as Jongho asked of him. He wanted to live, of course, he did. As impossible as this situation looked, he couldn’t just give up.

“We have access to all their cameras…” Yeosang filled in slowly, suddenly inspired by Jongho’s instructions. He pushed his chair back up to the computer he had broken into, already writing the program he knew he needed. “It might be possible to search their feeds for out of the ordinary activity if I told an algorithm what to look for.”

“How long would that take?” Jongho asked, following after Yeosang and watching over his shoulder while he got to work. He remembered what Jongho had admitted to him the other day, how for two years he had neglected to mention that he was going to school for computer engineering to help out at his mother’s tech shop. Unlike Hongjoong hovering behind him, there was the possibility Jongho could offer more insight. Tech was Yeosang’s element, he knew what he was doing, he knew what they needed to accomplish was possible; he just needed someone to pull him out of his head and remind him. Jongho was so calm despite what was happening, exuding such a familiar aura. It was just like back at the hideout. He was always there for him, no matter if Yeosang wanted him there or not in the past. They could do this. Maybe not alone, but Yeosang wasn’t alone; he had never been alone ever since Jongho had come into his life that night two years ago.

“If I take the code I use back at the hideout to watch for suspicious activity around there and modify what it’s looking for I might be able to speed up the process,” Yeosang explained, reminding himself that he didn’t have to dumb anything down anymore when talking to Jongho.

“You’d have to change it to go through existing camera footage, too,” Jongho added, eyes following every line of code Yeosang modified. Yeosang nodded in agreement, working as fast as his fingers would allow. He ignored the clock, ignored that everyone was also now crowded around his computer. All that existed was his computer and Jongho. Nothing else mattered.

“We need to narrow the search more,” Yeosang said, looking at just how many hours of surveillance they had to work with.

“The charges were probably set in the basement levels somewhere otherwise they would alert everyone in the building that something strange was happening.”

“They were also likely placed on something structurally significant to the building,” Yeosang added, building off what Jongho had said.

“Can probably narrow the time frame down from when the last broadcast aired to toady,” Jongho continued. “I doubt they’d risk always having something powerful enough to destroy the building in place.”

Yeosang quickly edited in the new modifications, telling his application exactly what to look for, silently praying that this would work. He hit enter, debugging a few mistakes at lightning speed before setting the program on its way. Thousands of frames of surveillance flashed across his screen, all from at least a hundred different cameras.

“I don’t know how long this will take,” Yeosang admitted, turning to face the rest of his team. He didn’t even know if this plan would work at all, but he was trying his best to stay positive for everyone’s sake. The rest of the team all looked back at him, varying degrees of worry on each of their faces. He probably didn’t even have to say he was unsure if it would work; they could all tell without words needing to be spoken. Mingi was the first to step up. If ever there was a time where Hongjoong had not been able to lead, Mingi had always been their next option.

“We should all split up, cover each floor so when Yeosang finds where it is, we’ll be close by.”

“How will we know how to diffuse it?” San asked.

“Once I find where it is, I might be able to figure out what kind of explosive device it is and how to turn it off,” Yeosang explained.

“What if there’s not enough time?” San asked next, much quieter than before.

“We’ll have time,” Jongho assured. “Come on, you heard Mingi, let’s go.”

The group all rushed from the room, Mingi barking orders on who should go where on the way out. Yeosang caught Jongho before he could leave.

“W-wait, where are you going?” He asked, holding the man’s arm so he couldn’t follow the rest of them out.

“We need everyone out there,” Jongho answered. His eyes softened when he saw the fear clear as day on Yeosang’s face.

“We’ll be okay. _I’ll_ be okay,” Jongho answered. He leaned in close, capturing his lips in what Yeosang hoped wasn’t a goodbye kiss.

“Tell us the moment you know where it is,” Jongho said when he broke away, already on his way out of the room, running to catch up with the rest of the team.

Yeosang fell back into his seat, his heart racing as he watched his program do its work. He willed it to go faster, practically begging the computer to finish executing the code sooner. He heard the others update each other one where they were, two people to each basement level if Yeosang heard correctly but he couldn’t bring himself to pay too close attention. Not as the seconds continued to tick by.

Seven minutes.

They could still do this. They could still make it out of here alive. He could feel his anxiety beginning to grow again without Jongho’s calming instructions, but he had to hold it together. He couldn’t panic, everyone was counting on him to find all the answers. There was still time. They would have enough time. They would have enough time.

He repeated this mantra over and over again, unsure if he was actually convincing himself of anything at all. The seconds continued to tick down, the frames of thousands of hours of surveillance continued to flash across his screen and still nothing.

“Yeosang, do you have anything?” He heard Mingi ask. He tried to compose himself, tried to keep his fear out of his voice but he was afraid he was completely unsuccessful. He had to hold it together. Once one of them started panicking, the rest would surely follow. They could do this. There would be enough time.

“Not yet,” Yeosang began to ramble, unable to stop himself. “I don’t know how to make it go any faster. I’m sorry, there’s gotta be—”

He stopped talking, cut himself off in the shock of what he was seeing. He had found it. The code had worked. He watched the scene play out before him. Four agents, setting bomb charges along five support pillars. That’s exactly what they were looking for.

“Yeosang?” Jongho’s voice took him out of his surprise.

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” He all but shouted, searching for information on where this footage had come from. He found it quickly and immediately began relaying the information to the rest of the team. “Sixth floor, holding cell hallway, all the way in the middle. It looks like the explosives are attached to support beams.”

“Who’s on that floor?” Mingi asked.

“That’s me,” Jongho responded immediately. Yeosang’s heart sank. “Heading there now.”

“We’re counting on you,” Mingi agreed. “Yeosang, do you have anything you can tell us about the device?”

Yeosang watched the video three or four times, looking for anything that could cue him into how to defuse the explosive. He wished he had more knowledge on this subject, wished he knew what he was looking at so he could guide Jongho on exactly what to do to save the day. But he didn’t. He had no idea what he was looking at. It had never occurred to him that Agony would be willing to blow up their own building just to take ATEEZ down. Were they actually willing to potentially kill hundreds of innocent people just to take out a rival organization?

Yeosang couldn’t breathe; he could feel the panic he had been trying to keep under control boil up from his stomach, making his throat feel tight, his lungs like they were filled with water. His hands shook over the keys, muscle-memory the only thing keeping them moving. His vision blurred as he let his thoughts get the better of him. He didn’t know what he was doing. He couldn’t guide Jongho through the process. There wasn’t enough time. There wasn’t enough time to figure out what he was looking at, not enough time to research what he was looking at. They were all going to die, and it was going to be all his fault. His fault for not being prepared. His fault for not being smart enough. His fault for letting his panic get the better of him.

Three minutes.

“Yeosang, talk to me,” Jongho’s voice called out to him. “Are you there?”

“Yeah,” he answered, his voice giving away just how scared and panicked he really was.

“Go through the video with me, where do the agents start?” His voice calm and even.

“Jongho, there isn’t enough time, I don’t—”

“Forget about the time, go through the video with me. Tell me everything.”

Yeosang did as he was told, rewinding the video his program had found to the beginning of the clip.

Two minutes.

“They start on the furthest pillar from the entrance,” Yeosang began. “It looks the most complicated, so it probably controls all the others.”

“Alright, what next?”

Yeosang zoomed in as much as he could on the video without it turning blurry and unreadable. He watched their actions carefully, relaying to Jongho everything they did, no matter how small. It was the least he could do. He had absolutely no idea what was important. What movements were made out of necessity or just convenience? Was there even a way to disarm it? Would Jongho learn anything from Yeosang’s ramblings?

Thirty seconds.

“All they do for the smaller charges is attach them to the wall,” he finished. “It has to be the first one that controls the explosion.”

Yeosang waited for an affirmation that Jongho understood all that he had said but all he got was silence.

“Jongho?” He asked, dread settling in his stomach as yet again all he heard was white noise on the other end of the line.

Ten seconds.

He held his breath, hoping to hear even the slightest of noises.

Nine seconds.

But there was nothing. He couldn’t tell if the earpieces had somehow been disconnected or if it was as simple as no one saying anything in their last few seconds.

Eight seconds.

“Jongho! What’s happening! Did you stop it?” He shouted to the empty room.

Seven seconds.

No answer.

Six seconds.

The timer continued its descent, Yeosang wanted to pull up the cameras to the bottom floor, to see what was happening but there wasn’t enough time. He’d get his answer soon enough. He just wished Jongho would say something, anything to let him know that he was still alive.

Five.

“Jongho! Answer me!”

Four.

Yeosang stood up from his chair, torn between running from the room and curling up into a ball while he waited for the inevitable.

Three.

Tears gathered in his eyes. He couldn’t move. This couldn’t be the end. There was just nothing he could do.

Two.

He watched his last few seconds tick by in radio silence.

One.

An explosion shook the building above him. Dust from the ceiling rained down onto Yeosang as he caught himself against the desk in front of him. But as sudden as the commotion had been, it was gone, the room falling silent once more.

“Jongho!” Yeosang shouted one last time, his tears clear in his voice. What was happening? Was the building about to collapse? Had he really… Had Jongho been killed in the explosion before he could diffuse the bomb? How long until the supports could no longer hold up the building and the rest of them followed to their death?

“I’m okay,” Jongho’s breathless voice finally came through the earpiece. Yeosang collapsed to the ground in his relief, his emotions overcoming him, making his knees weak and his vision even cloudier as more tears filled his eyes. “I did it. It’s safe. We’re safe.”

“Why didn’t—Why didn’t you… you answer me?” Yeosang choked out. “I thought you had—”

He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

“I’m sorry.” He sounded so sincere. “I needed to focus; I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Don’t you… _ever_ do that to me again,” he cried. Jongho had the nerve to give a small laugh.

“I promise.”

“Hold on,” Mingi’s voice cut into the conversation. He sounded shaky too as if he had been just as affected by the situation as Yeosang had been. “If you stopped the bomb, what was that explosion we felt?”

“I didn’t feel anything,” San said. “Was there an explosion?”

Yeosang paused for a moment.

“What floor are you all on?” Yeosang asked, his anxiety growing once more.

“Fifth,” San said.

“First,” Mingi followed.

Yeosang, too, had felt an explosion. It had nearly knocked him over. Combining that with the knowledge he had learned from Mingi and San and the only logical assumption that Yeosang could come to was that the explosion had come from somewhere… above them…

_Shit._

“Hongjoong!”

~Hongjoong~

Blood rushed through Hongjoong’s ears, his heart pounding even louder as anger practically turned his vision red. He let his rage carry him from the control room and back the way he and Seonghwa had come in their initial infiltration. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, giving him the ability to push through the pain in his sprained—or at least severely bruised—ankle. His well-being was the least of his worries at the moment. All he could think about, all that fueled him to push forward despite the circumstances, was finding that _monster._ Everything else was an afterthought. Hongjoong wanted to end this once and for all. He had no idea what he was going to do once he was finally in front of that bastard, but he honestly didn’t care. He had faith Seonghwa would stop him if he were to go too far. And even if he didn’t, that man deserved every ounce of malice Hongjoong could conjure up and so much more.

Hongjoong’s heavy footsteps along with Seonghwa’s behind him echoed through the now empty hallways as the pair made their way as fast as they could to the location Yeosang had managed to pull from the computer. They had twelve minutes before whatever trap Agony had set for them somewhere in the building exploded and buried all their hard work under thousands of tons of rubble. But Hongjoong wasn’t worried. He had complete faith in his team’s ability to handle that situation. Hongjoong was calling Agony’s bluff. They would have enough time to do both. He was going to move ATEEZ one step closer to their end goal one way or another and _nothing_ was going to get in his way.

He raced back through the hallways they had come from, Seonghwa close behind. They flew back up the stairs as fast as their feet could carry them. Hongjoong’s lungs were on fire, his ankle aching from the strain, his muscles screaming as he forced them up step after step, but he pushed forward. Three flights, six sets of stairs in total flew by in a blur. Hongjoong barely registered his surroundings as he went on, his mind focused on one thing and one thing only.

Finally, back at the ground floor, Hongjoong shouldered through the access door to the outside, the very same door Mingi’s team had used to get in. The sky had gathered more storm clouds during their infiltration and a heavy rainfall poured from the dark sky. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the distance but Hongjoong didn’t let the foreboding weather stop him from finding his target. He quickly analyzed his surroundings, looking up and down the length of the alleyway he now found himself in.

“Down there!” Seonghwa shouted over the pouring rain, pointing to the left. Hongjoong barely saw it in the low visibility the rain left them in, but the flash of a white mask all the way down at the end was unmistakable. Hongjoong wasted no time, taking off at a sprint once more in the direction Seonghwa had noticed. He had no plan. He had no idea what he was going to do with one of his greatest adversaries right in front of him, but he could cross that bridge when he came to it. Nothing else mattered. Not after everything that man and his twisted father had put thousands of people through, had put Hongjoong himself and everyone on his team through… after everything they had put Seonghwa through…

Hongjoong ran as fast as his limbs could carry him, a small group of Agony agents coming into view the closer they got. Around five agents in total worked to pack up computer equipment into a set of three standard, black Agony vans. There was no way to tell through the ill-lit alleyway and the pouring rain which one was the man he was looking for—if any of them were at all—but Hongjoong didn’t care. He’d take them all down if he had to.

The Agony agents caught sight of the quickly approaching pair, dropping everything they had been doing immediately as another agent yelled from inside the furthest car from the alleyway:

“Leave the equipment! Get in the cars!”

“We can’t let them get away!” Hongjoong shouted to Seonghwa. He barely saw the man nod in agreement before Seonghwa was rushing after the agents scrambling to follow orders. All of them abandoned their equipment, rushing for their cars hurriedly.

Now closer, Hongjoong could see they all had dog masks, save for the one in the car furthest from the alleyway. Once he caught sight of that intricate dragon mask, identical to the one Seonghwa would wear as an agent of Agony, Hongjoong felt his anger reach its peak. He wasn’t going to let them get away. Even if he had to chase them all across the city. This ended here for that monster in human skin.

Seeing that their chance to apprehend his brother had a very small opening, Seonghwa rushed out in front of Hongjoong, running fast to catch up with the slowest of the five agents. He easily overtook Hongjoong’s pace, using his longer limbs to his advantage. The blood had been washed off his face from when an agent had gotten a good hit on him, his blond hair was plastered to his forehead from the rain, and a look of determination to match Hongjoong’s was plain as day on his face. He aimed his gun with practiced ease, keeping his pace all the while. His gun clicked empty twice before he gave up, realizing it was out of bullets and not having enough time to reload it properly. Instead, he threw the firearm away, picking up his pace and tackling the nearest agent to the ground, stopping him from reaching the closest car to the alleyway.

“Stay down!” Seonghwa shouted at the man he now pinned to the ground, a firm hand on his back, and his other holding the agent’s hands down. Hongjoong overtook his position quickly, not slowing down at all, heading straight for the closest car. All the other agents had gotten into the other two cars, the furthest one from Hongjoong starting up and its tires screeching against the slick pavement as they swerved to get a head start away from their pursuers.

Hongjoong didn’t think, didn’t even question how convenient it was that the agents had left one of their own cars behind. He had heard Yeosang’s warnings about how easy finding their location had been, but he hadn’t paid any attention to just what it could actually mean. He had thought that Agony’s goal was to destroy their own building, to destroy all the evidence that could tie the Governor and his family to the nefarious organization. He had thought Agony wanted ATEEZ to evacuate the building and lose all that they had gained so far. The thought had never occurred to him that perhaps the trap all along had been luring ATEEZ’s leader and Agony’s traitor out into the open, away from the safety of their team, and completely vulnerable to whatever Agony had set out for them. He had let his anger get the better of him; he had no way of seeing what the trap actually lying in wait for them had been and by that point, his partner had noticed something was off, it was entirely too late.

Hongjoong didn’t hesitate. He raced up to the last van that had been left behind as the other two cars swerved away from the scene. He barely registered Seonghwa shouting at him, his focus still solely on catching the bastard who was getting away from him.

“Hongjoong! Wait!” Seonghwa shouted, his voice so urgent and full of knowledge that Hongjoong couldn’t see through his anger. But it was far too late to stop any of it. Hongjoong yanked open the door to the van. He felt someone pull him away from the car despite his efforts to pull himself into the driver’s seat but even that wasn’t enough to stop the fate Hongjoong had subjected both of them to in his blind rage. A deafening blast echoed through the alleyway, a light so bright it felt as if Hongjoong’s eyes were burning right out of their sockets, a heatwave so intense it pushed him even further away from the car.

And then, there was nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! All comments appreciated! 
> 
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> 
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